


Straw Hat Dovah

by Spiders_Frost04



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, One Piece
Genre: Akuma42, BAMF Dovahkiin | Dragonborn, Not Beta Read, On Hiatus, This Is For You
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:40:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 76,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26974561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiders_Frost04/pseuds/Spiders_Frost04
Summary: The Dovahkiin has been travelling the multiverse for a while now. Spider currently finds herself on a ship with a lively crew and even more energetic captain. She's been roped into being their nakama, and upon learning it's meaning she resigns herself to guiding them to their dreams. Anyone who gets in her way won't last long. (Fair warning, Spider will be overpowered).
Comments: 14
Kudos: 15





	1. First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> So this is on FF.net but since Akuma42 asked about it I'll put it here too.
> 
> I haven't updated in a while since I'm focusing on work and my other fic but I haven't given up on it quite yet.

The darkness around her was strangely comforting, it was the only semblance of peace she could get these days as she waited to be moved onto the next adventure, into the next world. Voices slowly sifted through her consciousness as Spider gained awareness of her surroundings.

"She could be an enemy, we should tie her up at least." a girl's voice broke through the haze.

 _'Young, but with a steel in her voice. Unusual for one her age'_ Spider thought.

"Hehe, it's nothing the great captain Usopp can't handle!" Another voice boasted.

"Her armour looks so cool! Do you think maybe she'll join our crew?!" Came an overly excited youthful voice.

Opening her eyes Spider eventually rose to a sitting position causing the girl and the boy with the long nose to take a few steps back but a straw hatted teen stayed crouched besides her smiling widely. Looking more closely at the crew Spider saw that they were all human, and all staring at her curiously.

First was the raven haired straw hat wearing boy beside her, his smile was admittedly infectious when she looked him over, obsidian eyes full of light and a scar below his left seemingly from a very long time ago, he wore a red vest with blue shorts and sandals.

Next was the girl, she had orange hair just shorter than her own and troubled brown eyes that held something more than simple caution. A frown across her face made her feelings towards the new arrival clear as day so Spider decided to view the others.

The boy with black curly hair and long nose seemed to have calmed down seeing her as less of a threat. His whole aura seemed to radiate false confidence and Spider knew she was in the presence of a practiced liar, just not a very good one.

The other one of interest who had yet to speak had green hair and three swords at his side, his eyes assessing her and almost just waiting for a fight if his grip on one of the handles was anything to go by.

There were another two men there who seemed like they were picked up off of the street but well enough clothed they had money.

Looking down and taking stock of herself Spider saw she still wore her daedric armour sans the helm which was placed on her left side.

Dirty blonde shoulder length hair on fair skinned features revealed Spider's outer beauty, not that she was one to notice. Contrary to her actual age she appeared to be a 21 year old imperial woman with emerald eyes and defined cheekbones.

The straw hat boy was now in front of her still crouching but there was unrestrained curiosity in his eyes that Spider swore sparkled for a moment, His huge toothy grin forming. "Hi! I'm Monkey D. Luffy and I'm gonna be the king of the pirates!" He all but shouted at her in his refreshingly jovial manner.

Spider returned his grin with a small smile of her own. "Spider Alicia PoisonBlood, I'm the Dovahkiin."

"What's that supposed to be?" The green haired man asked causing Spider to redirect her attention to him. "Zoro, by the way."

"I'm sure it will sound strange to you but the Dovahkiin is a mortal born with the soul of a dragon." Spider responded hoping that just once she wouldn't be questioned too much about it.

"Whoa for real?" Luffy and the long nosed boy Spider assumed to be 'the great captain Usopp' said in unison.

"Okay stop for a second. One weird thing at a time, first you suddenly appear passed out in a flash of rainbow coloured lights in what is clearly battle armour, and now you're saying you have the soul of a dragon." The young woman surmised their situation.

"Congratulations, you're smart enough recall the last 30 seconds. Whoever raised you must be so proud of that invaluable skill you have." Spider bit back venomously. She'd been through this enough times that she'd lost all patience for the subject when people tried to call her crazy.

The retort caused a hearty laugh from Zoro and a barely contained giggle from Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku. Luffy however wasn't listening and was staring intently at something on Spider's waist.  
Not paying him any attention for the moment Spider saw a pained expression shadow the orange haired girl's face which was quickly overtaken by a baleful glare.

Spider's own eyes hardened. She was a killer that had slaughtered entire armies of men, mer, monsters and dragons, no one stood as her equal, not even those among the daedric princes to match her strength, a fact she proved after eliminating one of their number and taking his very soul for her own. Spider's entire being was that of an insurmountable wall of power, getting into a contest as to who can glare with the most ferocity has only one winner, predictably the other girl's face dropped into shock at her intensity before turning away.

Suddenly Spider felt Luffy reaching around and prodding her sheathed dagger. It was then that she stood up and drew the blade which caused everyone bar Luffy to momentarily put up their guard only to drop it when she offered it to the captain, his face lighting up as he too stood to receive it.

After playing with the dagger for a few moment, flipping it between his hands with the odd combat pose he asked her with excited yet pleading eyes. "Can I keep it?"

"Of course, provided that offer to join your crew is still available" Spider offered hoping it was since it would be no coincidence she was dropped here, this must be the place Sheo wanted her for the adventure. Once again that signature grin brightened Luffy's face and he struck out his open hand which Spider grasped with hers making the decision final.

"Hey Zoro look, we have a new Nakama!" Luffy had turned to call over to the swordsman without releasing Spider's hand.

"I see that captain." Came the easy going reply, a knowing smirk gracing his features as he knew that this woman had no idea what she'd just gotten herself into.

Without the group noticing however a marine vessel had approached the pirates, a man with pink hair in a white suit held a gun out to Luffy's head, given the short distance it was near impossible to miss and only Spider was able to react fast enough.

As the marine pulled the trigger Spider pulled Luffy close and reversed their positions in time for the bullet to instead spark harmlessly off of her demonic armour.

By now everyone had taken notice of the ship sailing alongside them, Zoro had drawn his swords alongside the other two men, Nami had a wooden staff and Usopp a slingshot loaded with lead pellets.

Releasing her captain Spider did a check to ensure he was okay and got a smile in return which quickly changed to a serious expression as he too inspected the marine that had shot at him. Both she and Luffy headed to the starboard railing in order to better talk to the offending marine who looked more pissed off that his shot was wasted than interested in talking to them.

"Listen here pirates!" He yelled out to them. "I'm here for nice dinner on a date with a beautiful girl, I don't need you ruining the event."

Spider was quick to decide this man was not to her liking and looked to Luffy seeing the same thoughts run through his head given the way his brows had furrowed.

"Captain, if I may?" Spider inquired, her intentions quite clear given the devious look on her face.

Luffy turned to his newest crew mate quickly studying her features before giving a nod and a big smile. it was time to see if awesome armour was her only peculiarity.

Which it wasn't. Definitely was not given her immediate course of action as soon as she got the okay. Spider raised her hand to her chest and summoned a ball of flames that caused a brilliant golden glow to encompass the deck of the Going Merry even in broad daylight, and released it onto the enemy ship causing a fiery explosion to take out half of the vessel and sent the marine who'd fired upon her captain flying out into the sea along with several crew members and a nicely dressed woman.

On the sinking ship Spider could see a prisoner they'd been keeping crawl out of the wreckage. She could tell he wasn't part of their crew from his malnourished complexion and distinct lack of uniform, instead he wore a jacket with snakes on either side slithering up from his waist to his collar bone, and a bandanna with blue stripes. His green under shirt, white trousers and brown shoes completing the look.

looking away from her handiwork Spider turned to see Luffy and Usopp staring at her with stars in their eyes, Johnny and Yosaku dancing about 'having a new big sis', Nami looked like she'd just witnessed the devil himself rise from the ocean, and Zoro stood rather impassively with an impressed look in his eyes.

"Shall we discuss my position on the ship?" Spider asked the rest of what she assumed to be the Luffy's crew.

…

About a day had passed and Spider was told the details of the crew she had joined, it turned out that it was only Luffy, Zoro, Usopp and Spider that made up the Straw hat pirates and that they had a temporary alliance with Nami, the orange haired girl she had conflict with. And the other two were old acquaintances of Zoro's from his bounty hunting days.

A ship had appeared on the horizon which she assumed to be their destination, the Baratie where they would be on the hunt for a cook to join them. It didn't make much difference to Spider since she no longer even had to breathe let alone eat anymore, though on occasion it was nice to indulge.

Spider was on the deck of the Going Merry but quickly moved towards the women's quarters she shared with Nami. Through sheer force of habit from her early days of being both an accomplished thief and assassin she entered the room without a sound and sat on the bed she'd been given, quietly watching the navigator fuss over a bag of valuables the crew had collected.

"This is close but it won't be enough to pay him back with. I'll have to make one more trip but after that... stop, just focus on getting this to the village." Nami whispered to herself as she carefully recounted the treasure, valuing each piece with superb accuracy.

"Wouldn't have thought you were the type to be in debt." Spider suddenly spoke from her position on the bed causing the shocked Nami to spin around as if a ghost had appeared, and judging from the look on her face one may well have. "What? You can't be that surprised I'm in the room we share"

"How much of that did you hear?" Nami took a defensive position around the bag. _'I have to get this back to them, even if it means going through this crazy bitch'_ She thought.

"Enough to know you're going to leave soon." Spider replied easily while ignoring the position Nami had placed herself in. "You could let us take care of the guy your worried about." She offered off offhandedly.

A flash of hope briefly flickered in Nami's hazel orbs but was quickly snuffed out and her eyes turned serious again. "Why would you of all people want to help me?" She all but sneered suspiciously "We didn't exactly start off on the best terms." She finished.

"No but I can see the captain likes you and is dead set on you being part of the crew, even if he's got to go through someone else to do it." Spider told the woman in front of her who had slightly lowered her guard. "And if you become part of this crew, anyone who messes with you had better be ready to go through me first." Her words held conviction Nami had rarely heard before and somehow she knew them to be true, but she would be foolish to trust them when she was so close...

"It's none of your business who I owe the money to and I don't need your help." The navigator almost yelling at Spider had now started storming out of the room. _'No matter what anyone says no one is stronger than a fishman, especially Arlong.'_

 _'The world is a big place, often those you think stand at its peak are merely targets waiting to be struck down'_ Spider's voice echoed inside Nami's head yet she didn't see the woman physically speak the words.

Shrugging it off as being her imagination Nami continued out the door and across the deck of the Merry until she reached the starboard railing allowing the fresh sea air to fill her lungs. She had to find a way to escape, Spider wasn't likely to keep what she had heard to herself and no matter how cheery Luffy might be it's not like he'd be pleased with Nami making off with his portion of the treasure.

 _'But what if they can help?'_ The navigator briefly thought back to how Spider had destroyed half a marine ship like it was nothing. Then the unwanted memories of twisted corpses and destroyed buildings surfaced accompanied by his laughter, the same laughter that haunted her dreams. 'Shahahahaha'

Shaking her head clear Nami regained her resolve to return to her village, the same one that was filled with people counting on her payment 8 years in the making. She couldn't let them down.

After a few minutes of seeing their next stop get closer Nami saw Spider exit the women's quarters, the navigator swiftly made her way back inside for no other reason than to avoid the only other woman on the ship. Upon entering she was surprised to see a small bag on her bed with a note next to it. Sitting down and picking up the note she began to read.

_Whomever it is you are dealing with I trust you to handle the situation as you see fit, though once your business is concluded I hope you will return to the crew. Perhaps these may help you along in your venture._

_Spider PoisonBlood_

Quickly looking from the not to the bag Nami tugged at the cloth to reveal its contents. Three solid gold bars, several diamond encrusted pieces of jewellery, and an assortment of precious gems resting inside.

Nami covered her mouth with her hand to hold back the gasp before it could escape as she valued the bag of treasure Spider had left for her. Even without half of it Spider had given Nami more than enough to reach the 100,000,000 beri she needed to make the trade. She could finally be free.

…

It wasn't long until the ship docked outside of the mobile sea restaurant. The Baratie was rather impressive looking despite the exterior taking the form of a giant fish. Honestly no one would expect any form of resistance if they were to attack this place given the nature and appearance of the ship.

Inside it was relatively fancy for the part of the sea they were in, grand circular tables and chairs stood in a large dining area, filled with happy customers chatting to each other and enjoying the excellent looking cuisine on their plates. Near the middle of the room was a spiral staircase leading up to what could be assumed to be the kitchen given all the noise coming from there, it was also where the food was coming from and going to so it was a safe bet.

The Straw Hat crew plus their guests took their place at a large enough table that could accommodate a group of their size and waited until someone came to take their order.

"This place looks so fancy, you guys better behave yourselves." Nami told them sternly.

Zoro only made a "Tsch" sound but remained settled in his seat closing his eyes after briefly looking at a menu.

Luffy was eying other people's food but at Nami's words pouted and thoughts of stealing from them fell away in favour of viewing what he could order.

"I'll have three of those, four of these, a grandeur steak, and eight of whatever this is." He said excitedly flipping the menu and pointing out everything he wanted to Nami.

"You can have one of each Luffy." Nami stated sternly, refusing to give in to his pleading eyes she heard a muted 'fine' from the captain of the Straw Hat pirates. Turning to the rest she took note of their orders until she got to Spider.

"I'll have the rest of what the captain ordered." She said much to everyone's surprise. Surely there couldn't be another person with Luffy's appetite, they'd run out of supplies after a few days at sea if that was the case given how much the merry could store.

Nami quietly wrote it down (much to the surprise of everyone else at the table given her usual stinginess) and flagged the attention of the bald man who was trying his best to take orders in a professional manner yet failed by how inadvertently rude he was.

"Hello there you worthless bastards, and welcome to the Baratie." The man said with his hands together and a strained polite smile on his face. "What the hell do you want?"

While Nami relayed the order for the group Usopp who was next to Spider leaned in and asked. "Why didn't Nami stop you ordering so much like she did with Luffy?"

Despite it being in a hushed tone several others at the table leaned in, clearly interested in the answer. "I helped her with a problem she was having, that's all I'm going to say about it." Came Spider's simple response and there was no chance to speak about it again as the door burst open to reveal two very wet looking marines and a woman who was in clear distress at what she'd experienced.

The pink haired marine in front stomped his way over to the table the crew was situated at pointing an accusing finger at them. "YOU PIRATES!" he shouted before he was intercepted by another waiter.

He was a blonde haired man with strange eyebrows and dressed in a nice black suit with matching dress shoes. "Hey, hey stop right there asshole, if you want to pick a fight with our customers you can wait until they've eaten and left." He firmly told the shocked marine.

Fullbody raised a fist to remove the obstacle that had appeared to block his path "Out of my way waiter" but was suddenly sent flying by a kick from the very man he had tried to attack. The force of the attack left him in a bloody mess as the man effectively struck the marine's face where it would cause the most damage.

"I'm the Assistant Head Chef you damn moron, we're just a little short staffed" The blonde man replied to the now unconscious marine who was being dragged away by one of his underlings.

They'd barely made it to the door before the man carrying his commanding officer was shot by the new arrival. It was the prisoner they'd been holding on their ship Spider surmised given while he looked wet and worse off than she'd last seen him, it was unmistakably the same person.

As the poor guy dropped to ground pressing a hand to the new gunshot wound in his chest, the new arrival passed by and sat at an empty table for two and pointed the gun at the one who'd taken the crew's order before.

Spider turned to her captain. "Do you always have to deal with such people captain?" She asked, ignoring the scene unfolding before them. "Because I feel I should warn you I may not have the patience for talking our way out of their anger."

Luffy's grin spread even wider. "Don't worry, we're pirates! If anyone messes with us we'll just beat them up." He said simply as if it was the obvious answer.

Nami swiftly bonked Luffy on the head causing a lump to form. "Violence isn't always the answer for these things."

"Hey! What was that for?" The boy held his head where the strike had hit him. "It's only if people are being annoying, Spider knew what I meant, right?" Luffy looked across the table to his newest crew mate.

"Of course, though I must admit violence is usually the easiest answer." Spider smiled over at her captain.

Nami took on a solemn demeanour all of a sudden. "And what about when you come across someone stronger than you?" She practically whispered and despite the crashing of a person going through a chair and being kicked out of the Baratie, Spider focused her attention of the orange haired girl.

"I haven't found someone that can so much as scratch me in the last thousand years, I'm not worried about picking a fight I can't win." Came the serious reply that only Nami payed attention to. Everyone else was too concentrated on what happened between the cook and pirate.

The navigator looked up with shadows in her eyes searching Spider's for any sign of deceit but found none, only the same confident and steely look she always seemed to carry. _'Delusional_.' Nami thought.

 _'Not quite.'_ Spider responded inside her head again causing Nami to bolt up from her seat. At this point everyone at the table was staring as she looked at Spider slightly horrified that what happened before hadn't been her imagination.

"HOW DID YOU DO THAT!?" She screamed in what surely looked like a hysterical manner.

Before anyone could question Nami or call her crazy Spider reached out to everyone around the table and spoke again in their heads. 'She's talking about my telecommunication.'

"A little trick I picked up in Alagaesia." Spider told her calmly. "If you sit down I'll explain it." At this Nami slowly if with a mistrustful look, lowered herself back into her seat and waited for the stares to stop coming from the other customers.  
"I project my consciousness into yours allowing me to communicate with you through thoughts alone." The entire crew was staring with great interest. "However you're all less able to detect my presence in your minds than the people in Alagaesia, perhaps due to the fact it isn't something anyone in this world is capable of."

Usopp was the first to pipe up. "So does this mean that you can read our minds?" He asked nervously.

"If I wanted to then yes I could, but that's not all I can even explore your memories or take control of your body provided my will was greater than yours. I'm also able to give strength to a certain extent." Spider listed the possible uses of the power she had learned while travelling with the Varden. But stopped when she saw the looks on everyone's faces. "I'll leave it at that before I give anyone a heart attack."

Nami's complexion paled at Spider's words, Zoro looked concerned but said nothing, Usopp was to put it simply stunned into silence (same with the bounty hunters), and Luffy was bouncing in his seat asking question after question.

"That's so cool! Can you read my mind? What am I thinking right now? No wait… now!" He had a beaming smile as he stared happily at the woman next to him.

Spider looked at him for a moment and took a peek hoping it was nothing too bad she was going to see. Quickly a small laugh escaped her and she raised a gauntleted hand to cover her lips. "You're imagining riding a flying piece of meat towards the Going Merry, there's myself, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, the blonde chef from earlier, and five shadows on deck. We're all waving at you as you pass by."

The stars in Luffy's eyes grew with every word Spider spoke as she perfectly described what he was imagining in perfect detail. _'She's so awesome!'_

Spider again smiles at the compliment though it wasn't clear if she was meant to be privy to it. "I take it that means you've decided on who our cook will be." Spider changed the subject and prompted her captain to nod rapidly and jump up to chase after the chef who had disappeared through a door leading to where the pirate from before had been kicked out.

Not long after he left the food arrived and it was an impressive feast Spider had to admit, with the lion's share being placed in front of her given that she'd essentially taken over Luffy's order. Speaking of the captain he came back through the door looking a little dejected but that soon disappeared when he saw the food, bolting to his seat Luffy ravaged the food and ate exactly as one would expect a pirate to.

"Hey, you gonna eat that?" Luffy asked Spider with his mouth half full staring at the many plates of untouched food in front of his crewmate.

"Go ahead." Spider gave him the affirmative and it seemed her captain was one step ahead of her, already reaching for the food at the word 'go' much to her amusement. _'I've certainly been given a rather interesting group this time. Less serious and more fun than wars on evil tyrants. Good job Sheo.'_

The blonde chef from the kitchen soon appeared heading down the spiral staircase with a glass of wine in one hand and two glasses in the other, a smouldering cigarette in his mouth.  
He soon crossed over to the table Spider and the rest of crew were seated at and set the glasses down between Nami and Spider herself despite the person (Luffy) between the women seemingly ignoring his existence, and poured the red liquid into the two glasses. "For the most exquisite beauties in the East blue, I humbly offer my apologies for not attending to you when you first arrived." He spoke in a suave manner.

Spider accepted the glass with a polite smile but inwardly frowned. _'I can already tell this is going to be the kind I enjoy.'_ This was when she noticed Zoro looking to the glass in her hand and caught onto his thoughts.

 _'It's been at least a weak since I've had any kind of booze, but everything here's too damn expensive and I doubt the witch (Nami) will help me out given how closely she watches our spending.'_ He thought to himself as he reached for his glass of water and held it for a moment only for it to be replaced in a small puff of greenish mist with the wine Spider had been given. He looked up to see Spider taking a sip of his water smiling at him and he smirked back drinking the entire thing in one gulp.

The blonde chef was too distracted by Nami seducing him into giving her the food and drinks for free to notice the switch or that the bottle he'd set on the table had vanished from its original position and was now next to a content looking green haired swordsman.

When he'd been thoroughly scammed by the orange haired girl the chef went to pick up the wine he placed down only to find it wasn't there, seeing this Spider quickly leaned around the back of her ravenous captain and got his attention before he could discover the bottle's new home. "Excuse me." She called over and immediately got the desired response.

The chef was down on one knee in front of her and holding one of her hands in both of his, hearts in his eyes. "Yes my dove, what is it you desire? Anything, just name it and it will be yours I swear it."

Perhaps she was too quick to use the term 'desired' but this was good too. She gave him a polite smile before speaking. "Charmed, but I'm afraid I didn't catch your name."

Just as it looked like he was about to answer another blonde man with a very tall chef's hat made his presence known behind him. He had a large moustache and only one organic leg, the other being made of wood.  
"Sanji you good for nothing eggplant!" He called over.

"Damn that old geezer." He cursed quietly before standing and turning to the other man. "What do you want you old geezer?"

Spider could see the familiarity with which they talked to each other and easily identified the father son relationship between them even if they weren't blood related. (Okay she peeked a bit to be sure). An argument broke out between them and given how readily each side presented their points it was one they'd had before, the head chef wants Sanji to go, but Sanji himself wants to stay.

It quickly ended when the older man did a rather impressive spinning kick, his wooden limb connecting with the younger's face and sending him crashing into an empty table.

"I'll leave when you're dead and gone!" Sanji still managed to grumble from his position causing a spiteful chuckle from his boss.

"Dead? I still got at least a hundred years of kicking your ass left." He said as he rounded the corner to go outside.

"Damn old geezer, always has to get the last word." Sanji had gotten up and set the table and chairs back to their proper positions. He made his way back to the Straw Hat table. Luffy had finished eating and watched the proceedings but still took the occasional look at someone else's food.

"Why don't you want to sail with us?" Spider asked him when Sanji got close enough. "I understand it's not an easy decision to make. To leave behind those who you've known practically all your life for the unknown with people you've just met, but there must be something we can do to convince you." Spider pressed on.

Sanji had a small smile tugging on his lips at her words. "I'm afraid I owe the old man too much to just up and leave him. Even if I really want to find my dream." The last part was directed at Luffy though Spider couldn't fathom why but didn't get chance to pursue the subject when Sanji also took off back up the spiral staircase and into the kitchen.

…

A few days of milling around the Baratie followed the events as Luffy refused to leave without their chef. This had led to Spider's current impromptu meeting with Zeff.

He was leaning against the wall by a side entrance to the Baratie watching Sanji serve the customers with the excellent looking food the young man looked proud of as each customer's eyes lit up upon tasting the superb meal.

Spider had slid in the empty space next to him, purposefully letting the head chef notice the movement but neither said anything to the other for several minutes until Sanji had disappeared from view.

"You know, you're going about it the wrong way if truly want him to fly the nest." Spider spoke up.

"And what would you know about it? You look the same age as the brat I'm trying to get rid of." Came the response from the grizzled looking chef.

"I was a parent too." Spider let the words hang in the air for a moment before continuing. "Sanji doesn't look like the kid who wants to prove you wrong, he's the kind who wants to prove you right." Was all she said before lifting herself from the wall and going back outside to the ship.

That was when things got interesting as a huge galleon slowly sailed towards the restaurant. With her superior vision and ability to see the auras of people on the vessel she could make out the poor condition of both.

"I wonder who they could be." She muttered to herself not having been privy to what happened to the pirate that was kicked out of the Baratie four days previously.  
Pushing the matter aside for the moment Spider continued to the Going Merry finding Johnny and Yosaku looking through bounty posters and talking about who they could reasonably capture or defeat.

Spider walked up to them and knelt down on one knee slightly surprising the bounty hunters with her presence but they soon went back to looking through the posters.  
Only two caught Spider's eye, the highest two. Don Krieg with a 17 million Berri bounty and Arlong with a 20 million Berri bounty.

The last one had caught her eye due to the man being rather irregular looking, having a strange nose with sharp pointed teeth, he more resembled a shark in these aspects Spider mused but wasn't one to judge.

"Do you mind if I keep these?" She asked the bounty hunters who complied saying that they were 'out of their league' anyway. It was when Spider was walking past the stairs that Nami who had been in the upper deck gasped suddenly while looking down at the poster in Spider's hands. She looked up to the young navigator and saw fear flashing in her eyes when it was quickly stomped out. "Friend of yours?" Spider inquired.

Nami's hand unconsciously went to the tattoo on her arm that happened to be on display given the short t-shirt she had opted to wear. Looking from the tattoo to the poster Spider noticed the similarities and nodded to herself. "I see, not a very nice guy then."

Nami inwardly cursed. Had she been figured out or was Spider simply assumed it was someone else she'd scammed along the way after the rest of the crew had told her of Nami's profession? Either way it was time to leave. Yet the thought escaped her mind as quickly as it had entered when the galleon carrying one of the most feared pirates in the East blue finally came close enough to be appreciated for how big it truly was in the dense fog.

Spider for her part ignored it. Mostly due to the fact that everyone on it besides one was mostly dead and anyone who couldn't win a fight like that was truly a lost cause in her opinion. 'What are they gonna do, nurse them back to health and then fight them?'

Instead the Dovahkiin opted to go inside of the women's quarters and focus on calculating how much she should take out of her pocket dimension.

Without going into too many details, Spider has lived a long life (at this point I imagine her being around 1440 years old due to Alduin's godly soul granting her immortality plus the soul of a daedric prince.) and as an accomplished magic user she has been able to store much of her items inside of her own small pocket dimension. Alright maybe small is a relative term as inside she has stocked over a thousand years' worth of gold, silver, coins, ore, weapons, armour, gems, and almost anything else of value you can think of including daedric artefacts. She called it her inventory.

She'd managed to conjure a note pad and pen using her magical capabilities and soon had several lists of items she thought would be useful to bring out of storage, though looking back at the ship she had a feeling it wasn't big enough to quite fit everything comfortably.

Spider heard an explosion set off from the direction of the restaurant. "Surely they aren't having trouble with someone I could practically see the reaper hovering over." She commented aloud before returning to her notes. _'Perhaps I should hold off on most of this until we get a bigger ship.'_

A number of voices soon gave their own opinion on the subject, not many being very helpful.

_'You shouldn't waste resources on them.'_

_'They're weak.'_

_'Agreed_.'

' _Maybe she just wants to play with them, the boredom has been creeping up on us recently._ ' This last one got many, many mumbles of agreement from the souls within her. Most of which being dragons though a number of human, mer, animal and monster souls with weaker voices were also heard.

This happened from time to time, despite how clear she'd made it that conversation with the ones she'd killed wasn't something Spider particularly wanted to partake in they crept in with their own thoughts on her actions.

 _'By my standards everyone I come across is weak, even all of you.'_ Spider responded in a tone that made everyone quiet down. ' _I see their potential to be more than what they are, besides the atmosphere my young captain radiates is so… nostalgic.'_ She thought the last part more to herself with a smile.

Banishing the note pad and pen back to her pocket dimension Spider decided to try and use more of her magic. Travelling to a new world often came with the downside of her power taking a while to bleed through the gap created to get her there.

The more free form spells were still out of the question for now, not that she didn't have the strength for the task, that came from the souls she'd harvested, no the magical power that would come through gave her the control that she needed otherwise even a simple spell could end up killing everyone.

Readying the purple fire in her hand Spider bent the spell to her will connecting it to a draemora in oblivion and shaped the creature into a perfect daedric bow fully stocked with arrows. Taking a closer look Spider inspected the weapon and was pleased to find that it was flawless.

"Time to see what all the fuss is about I suppose." She spoke to no one and opened the door with her new glowing purple bow still in her grip. What she saw was however not quite what she had in mind.

Nami had pushed the bounty hunters off of the boat and said something about telling the others 'if it's meant to be we'll meet again' but that wasn't what Spider was focused on. Banishing the bow with an audible bang she leaned forward onto the railing looking down on the navigator with a sly smile.

Her face was priceless. Nami had immediately looked up at hearing the noise Spider's banishment had made and paled when she saw who it was. Knowing full well she wouldn't be able to explain away this one Nami just stood, frozen in place staring at Spider's unnerving smile.

Spider spoke first. "You planning to push me off too?" She asked Nami playfully and revelled in the fight or flight thoughts she could see racing through the girls mind. Then the galleon a few meters away was cut in half.

Briefly Spider's attention flitted to the sight of the sinking ship and a man travelling on a small boat lit with green candles sheathing his oversized black bladed sword. She soon dismissed him as a threat to her crew seeing as his intent was focused on the enemy pirates. That was until she heard the distinct sound of Zoro challenging the man.

Spider looked back to the Baratie seeing that Luffy, Usopp, the bounty hunters, and Zoro were stood outside. The last of which jumped to the sinking ship where his duelling opponent would be.

Spider herself to refocus when she caught Nami attempting to leave out of the corner of her eye. She swiftly made her way down the stairs and across the deck until she was to the side of the other girl.

"Don't keep them waiting, we'll be along soon enough." Spider told her and began walking again.

"Wait!" Nami found herself yelling after her. The other woman stopped for several seconds, the only thing breaking the silence was the sounds of Zoro's clash with the other swordsman. "Why are you helping someone who just betrayed you?"

All traces of the smile that had once graced Spider's features were gone. In a serious tone no one could ignore she said, "Because when this blows up in your face and you feel more desperate than you ever have without any hope left, we'll be there to pick you back up and show them that anyone who fucks with our crew won't live long enough to regret it."

This effectively ended the discussion as Spider left the Going Merry and crossed the Baratie to get a better view of the almost finished battle between the swordsmen. Zoro had his arms spread out after having sheathed his last unbroken blade.

Spider took up position next to Luffy as she watched the last part of the fight, readying a ball of healing magic in her hand, the soft golden glow only slightly distracting her captain.  
"He didn't stand a chance did he?" Spider asked offhandedly but didn't get a reply from any of the shocked spectators. 'They didn't really expect a great swordsman to beat the best in the world did they?'

As Mihawke slashed across Zoro's body causing blood to burst in a shower from him, there was a touching speech from the world's greatest swordsman about waiting for Zoro at the top until he could eventually challenge him. 'I do miss the early days when such feats seemed so far out of reach.'

Spider released the ball and watched it float over and into the defeated man. All his wounds stitched together and he felt his strength return to him as the last of the golden light dispersed from around his form.

Mihawke's glare was soon felt by Spider who returned it without blinking. _'Does he really think his skill is anything compared to mine? What am I saying of course he does after all he's never met me.'_

"Why do you interfere with the honour of our duel?" The man called to her.

"The duel was over, you won. However I'm hardly going to just let my crewmate bleed to death" Spider told him evenly. "Though if you really have a problem with it, come and stop me."

Mihawke smiled ruefully. "Why would I fight someone who's stronger than me?" He asked her.

This took Spider aback slightly, along with everyone else. "And just how do you know that?" She questioned the swordsman with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sure you'll find out." Was the last thing Mihawke said as he drew his blade and in a small whirl of slashes, he disappeared along with his boat.

Zoro had by now swam back over to the rest of them and had a look on his face that Spider knew she would have to address later, but for now the man on one of her newly acquired wanted posters leaned over the side of the Baratie's second floor railing.

"Coward." The purple haired man in gold armour said to seemingly everyone.

"Friend of yours captain?" Spider asked Luffy and this time she actually got a response.

"No, an enemy." He stated, straw hat shadowing his eyes as he said it somehow giving him an insidious look.

 _'I like it._ ' Spider thought to herself. "Nami will be waiting for us here." She handed the captain the bounty poster containing Arlong's details which helpfully included his location. "You think you can handle things here?" She asked him after he took the poster.

"Of course I can! Who do you think you're talking to here?" He asked her loudly and even pouted a little at what he perceived to be a lack of trust.

Spider put on a reassuring smile. "Then may I accompany our navigator? I want to make sure she doesn't run into any trouble."

"HEY DON'T IGNORE ME!" Came the crude yelling from Don Krieg above them until he jumped down to block Spider's path.

"Captain?" Spider asked.

"Shishishishi go ahead. But don't kill him, he's mine to fight" Luffy told her, the pout now replaced by his brilliant gleaming smile again.

Spider nodded and closed the distance between her and the commodore. Weapons had sprung out from the hidden compartments in the armour but Spider merely increased her speed to throw him off guard. In the blink of an eye she punched the man in the gut and slipped past him towards where the Merry was still surprisingly docked.

Looking down at her new piece treasure, being an accomplished member (then leader) of the Thieves guild Spider had easily slipped the gauntlet with the huge diamond off of Krieg's hand and admired the beauty of it. Solid gold with several smaller diamonds surrounding the main one, this must be worth something.

Slipping it in her inventory for later Spider searched for Nami and soon spotted her aura on a small boat rowing away from the Baratie. Big enough for her, the treasure and one other person Spider was pleased to see as she readied herself for the sudden change in environment.

…

Nami, to her credit didn't scream in shock when purple flames swirled around the other end of the boat and Spider appeared out of them sitting comfortably in the other seat with the bag of treasure between them.

Both of the women were quiet for a few minutes aside from the locomotion spell Spider placed on the boat causing it to move in their desired direction.

"Thought you'd be with the others." Nami finally broke through the tension in the air.

"They don't need my help, you though I'm worried about." Spider told her, her face not betraying any kind of emotion.

"So it was a lie when you told me you'd meet me there."

"Not at the time, but when I saw who it was I'd be helping fight I thought I'd rather talk to you." At these words Spider could see Nami's surprise stretching across her features.

"Why did you give me so much treasure? When we first met we didn't exactly click so when you just gave me millions of berries worth of gold and… it just doesn't make sense to me." Nami said and watched intently as Spider thought for a moment.

"I suppose it's because I know how I can seem… to put it simply horrible towards anyone remotely hostile. But when I learned you weren't my enemy I wanted to do something to make up for it." She told the younger as she looked to the side, watching the waves roll on the vast sea.

"I guess there's no point hiding anything since you've seen my memories. You understand why I don't want any of you guys to fight Arlong don't you?" Nami questioned.

Spider looked confused for a second. "I didn't look at your memories, I just figured out you owed this guy from what I heard you say on the Going Merry and your reaction to his wanted poster." As her words left Nami's reaction became more and more unsettling. After a few moments she spoke again. "If you can, tell me what this man did to you. Show me."

Nami had tears in her eyes, a few even escaping as the memories burst forth from the recesses of her mind. From Bellemere's death to her being forced to draw maps for the fishman pirate group. She'd suffered as the people of island were terrorized by their reign and saw herself stepping over the corpses of a village who had finally refused to pay. The destruction was beyond what she'd ever seen and entire families were torn apart in each other's arms. The deal she'd made came next as the last eight years of stealing and lying came back to her and how hard it had been at first, but it was all for them. So that they could be free.

Spider rose from her sitting position, picked up the treasure bag and threw it behind her where her seat was. She crossed the small gap and pulled Nami up to a standing position. The girl looked so vulnerable as tears flowed freely down her face and sobs wracked her body even as she sank into the hug Spider enveloped her in.

What felt like hours passed and Spider could see the series of Islands they were going to was approaching quickly, as was the end to the Navigator's nightmare, Spider was going to make sure of that.

A green tinted swirling mist flowed around Spider's hand as the other held Nami close. Eventually she let the spell flow into the young woman calming her nerves enough that she could pull away and dry her eyes. With only a few minutes until land fall Spider took the opportunity to talk about what she saw.

"My deepest apologies." She said kneeling down on one knee shocking the navigator. "I didn't know of your mother's demise when I met you and… with your permission," Spider raised her head to meet Nami's eyes, they were glowing with determination. "I want to avenge both her and you."

Spider's desire to help her had baffled Nami when it was just about the treasure she'd given up but this was something else. Arlong had always made her feel scared as his presence carried with it a sense of dread but here she felt safe from that as if inexplicably, Spider had an aura that was stronger than her tormentor's.

She could feel tears stinging her eyes again. "Yes… help me." With those words she fell to her knees only to be caught by Spider's reassuring arms.  
The boat then beached on the shore and Spider helped Nami off of the boat, not forgetting to grab the bag and throw it into the inventory.

"Go home Nami." Spider told her as they stood together. "This isn't something you're going to want to see." Were the last words she spoke as Spider pulled a demonic looking helmet from seemingly nowhere and equipped the last piece of armour.

…

Spider wasn't far from the gates of Arlong Park after around ten minutes of travelling, she knew where it was after seeing Nami's memories of the place. It was around four in the afternoon when she'd finally arrived and tore down the door. Images of the destruction these pirates caused fresh in her mind.

The dust hadn't yet cleared but she walked through into the lion's den and felt all eyes on her. A pick octopus looking man had moved to intercept her but a swift back hand sent the now unconscious creature flying out into the sea a fair distance beyond Arlong Park. The others after getting over the shock blocked her path to her target who still lounged on a deck chair hardly giving Spider a glance.

Spider unsheathed her daedric sword, and with it, her control.

The one with a martial arts stance started talking about a 200 brick fist as he punched towards Spider only for her to stop the blow with her left hand, raise her sword from under his arm and sever the limb completely in one fluid movement before slamming the arm into his face with enough force that it exploded into meaty chunks.

Seeing the other officer out of action the second fishman attempted take her off guard by spitting water at her at high velocity. Spider moved faster than should've been possible for a human and was already in front of the fishman. She reached and grabbed his tube shaped mouth and in much the same movement as she'd used to sever his comrade's arm she cut his mouth off. Moving to avoid the spray she ignored the screams as the officer showered the horrified fishmen with his own blood. He managed to run screaming without words for several minutes as Spider slaughtered his kin.

Guts splayed across the floor after being ripped out of the poor souls, a few even being strangled with them, eyes bulging out of their heads. And what could Arlong do? Nothing.

Something was keeping his body pinned to his seat and forcing his eyes to watch as his crew was torn apart by the human woman who had burst through the gates only minutes ago.

All of his crew were screaming for help from their captain. Those who were still breathing anyway. As the entire place flowed with a river of blood and entrails a deep feeling of terror settled in the remaining fishman's gut

Spider had a hold on one of his men's throats lifting him off of the ground. She gave him a cursory glance. The endless darkness of the eyes in the daedric helm held no comfort, only causing him to suffer a greater feeling of dread as the thing in front of him crushed the fishman in her grip.

"Time for the fun to begin."

…

The entire village was staring at the massacre in Arlong park, the sight had made a few of them throw up as the viscera inside had been spread like Christmas decorations, body parts hanging from the building itself to along the wall that protected the area.

But above the entrance Arlong himself was pinned to the middle of the arch, his body was cut in half and most of his intestines flowed out of his body but didn't quite reach the floor along with an assortment of his other entrails. When one looked to the fishman's mouth, pierced between the razor sharp teeth was his own heart that still oozed blood down his chin, dripping into the slowly growing pool below. Moving up his nose had been torn off given that a cut would've left less flesh clinging to the face, it had evidently been shoved in Arlong's left eye and stuck out like a sore thumb.

The finishing touch was the straw hat pirate logo carved into the guy's chest large and clear enough that who was responsible for the work was absolutely clear.  
The bounty is going to be a big one for this.

Nami stared at the gruesome sight and for some reason felt… relief. The weight on her shoulders from all the years of torture she'd endured was lifted from her and she had one person to thank.

That person now stood next to her, watching as the emotions ran across her features. "I might have went a little overboard." Spider commented on the scene but was surprised by Nami giving her another hug.

"Yeah, but if I had the chance. I would have done the same." Nami's voice came from somewhere buried in Spider's chest.

 _'Surely nuzzling metal can't be comfortable for her.'_ Spider though but returned the gesture all the same. "I told you before, anyone who fucks with our crew…"

"You still want me to join?" Nami asked.

"It's not my crew, but I saw how badly Luffy wanted you as a navigator. In fact I don't think he'll accept anyone else." Spider replied remembering the picture her captain had in his head back at the Baratie.

"Nami wait! Don't tell me you actually want to try and join these savages!" A older gentleman with many scars and a hat with a pinwheel on top suddenly appeared from the crowd of villagers.

Spider had yet to remove her daedric helm and still looked like a demonic warrior so her intimidation factor was pretty damn high right now. "Would you rather I let them live?"

The man took a step back at the threatening tone in her voice but still found the courage to respond. "Killing them is one thing but this…" He gestured behind him at the utter carnage. "This is inhumane."

"You're right, but maybe that's because I've found there's only one thing everyone truly understands. If I show that when someone messes with me I let them go it invites others to make an attempt knowing its risk free, but how many do you think will dare if they think I'll rip out their heart and make them eat it?" Spider's cold voice sent shivers down the man's spine.

Genzo just looked down at his feet, he knew that she was right in her own twisted way. No one would even so much as look at the woman if they thought she was capable of such brutality. He looked back up into the darkness of the demonic helm she wore. "Why?"

"Nami's part of my crew. As my captain said, she's Nakama." Spider's voice had softened at that and she even felt the emotions of the man in front of her bubbling up.

"Hang on." Nami interrupted after thinking for a moment. "I thought everyone here hated me for what I did, for joining the Arlong pirates. Why are you pretending to care about me now?" She asked the older man.

"We've always cared! We knew about the deal you made with him about the money we just didn't show it because we didn't want to hold you back if you wanted to run away." This was bringing up a lot of tears from Nami as she took in the information.

Spider could really only watch the encounter and reflect on what she'd done. 'Perhaps it would have been better to let Luffy defeat the fishman instead, it certainly would have raised the trust between the navigator and the rest of the crew.' She inwardly shrugged. 'I'm not even going to pretend I'd be able to just sit by and watch someone else beat him.'

When Spider decided to focus back onto Nami and the older man she saw them both hugging and Nami whispering in his ear. "Don't worry, for the first time in eight years, I feel safe."

The touching scene was short lived as a squadron of Marines could be seen sailing towards Arlong Park and everyone grimaced at seeing the division. "Would it be correct to assume that these aren't the heroic type to save the day?" Spider asked.

Nami's eyes hardened as she recognised the man in front on the others even from this distance. "No, that's Nezumi, he's been in Arlong's pocket for a long time."

"Then what do you say we raise the reputation of our crew a little." Strange light glided from Spider's hands over her body extorting her image, bending and shaping it in a haunting glow until finally in front of everyone stood a perfect replica of Monkey D. Luffy, height and all.

Nami stared along with everyone else at the smiling face of her captain. "How…" She spoke while reaching out a hand to touch his face only for his smile to drop.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He said and she stopped.

"Why?" She asked curiously.

"Well this is illusion magic and since Luffy is shorter than me his head is where my… 'chest area' would be, so if you were to try and touch Luffy's head you'd really be grabbing my…" Spider didn't need to finish the sentence for Nami to blush a deep red and start sputtering.

"S-still it's kind of strange that you can even copy his voice." Nami quickly fought to change the subject trying to move on from her near miss.

It was then that they heard the cries of shock and horror from inside the Arlong Pirates' base of operations and Spider, or rather Luffy walked inside to greet the new guests.

"Hi there!" He called out to the marines, the leader of which was a rat like individual that even had whiskers to top off the appearance. Just act like Luffy and it will all be fine. Spider thought to herself.

"You boy!" The man yelled trying desperately to keep his lunch down. "Who did this?"

"Well that's easy! I did!" 'Luffy' told him with the toothy grin not leaving his face even as his sandals were slowly soaking in the blood that hadn't dried yet.

There was an incredulous look of Nezumi's face as he all but screamed "IMPOSSIBLE!" At the boy. That was when his throat was suddenly seized by the boy's outstretched arm all the way from the destroyed gate to the where the ship had docked. Nezumi was snapped towards 'Luffy' and thrown out side towards where the villagers were gathered.

Regaining his bearing Nezumi looked up to see half the corpse of his former business partner hanging, heart in his mouth and nose in his eye. The boy who threw him standing directly below, shade from his straw hat covering his eyes.

"You calling me a liar?" The boy asked in a low growl.

"Wh-who are you." Nezumi managed to say through the lump that had formed in his throat.

'Luffy' looked up revealing obsidian eyes that burned with passion. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm going to be king of the pirates!" His voice carried across the area with absolute clarity and even the villagers who knew it was actually Spider forgot and were lost in the moment.

'Luffy' crossed the distance between him and the marine grabbing him by the collar and dragging him to his feet. "And don't you forget it."  
Releasing the marine the man soon sprinted away back towards his squad who were still too shocked by the gory sight before them to even move against the pirate captain.

"RUN YOU IDIOTS!" Nezumi cried as he scrambled to get everyone away from this crazy pirate that was strong enough to tear the Arlong pirates to pieces.

After they'd scurried back to their ship 'Luffy' turned to Nami. "That was disgusting." He said out of nowhere.

"What?" She had other questions like how the hell did she copy Luffy's devil fruit power but right now she was too interested in what Spider of all people would constitute as 'disgusting'.

"You saw me stretch my arm right? It felt-" She paused for a moment as the illusion dissipated and she appeared as her regular imposing self again regaining her own voice. "Awful, I need a drink after that." She finished and began walking back to the village leaving no time for questions. _'There are times when the fact I can do magic really bites me in the ass.'_

…

The next day Luffy and the others arrived on the island and everything was explained to them, though Spider had to have a private conversation with her captain that she had to use his image in order to maintain the reputation of the Straw Hat Pirates (That being the captain was the strongest) since he wasn't here and apologised for not letting him be the one to beat Arlong.

Surprisingly her captain punched her in the cheek though the daedric metal protected her from the blow.

"Don't apologise for helping a crewmate, if I can't be there to protect them then I want to trust that someone else on the crew will be." He'd said very wisely given his usual childish disposition.

Spider nodded to her captain and noticed the slight pained expression he was giving. "You hurt your hand didn't you." Spider phrased it like a question yet it was anything but as her captain finally gave in.

"SO BAD! What is that thing made of!?" He yelled blowing on his bruised hand. He felt Spider ruffle his hair and looked up at her a little confused but could almost feel her smiling through the armour. A golden glow flowing over his injured hand wiping away any pain he'd previously felt from assaulting her.

It wasn't long until they re-joined everyone else and helped prepare for the celebration after Luffy was finished marvelling at her magical prowess. He even tried to make her the crew's doctor and was still attempting to convince the woman when they bumped into Sanji and Usopp.

"For the last time captain I can't be the doctor of the crew, if someone comes down with a disease or gets poisoned I don't have the medical knowledge to come up with a specific antidote." Spider told him.'Technically true, though I can make a cure all poisons/diseases potion. If I didn't show up they'd offer the position to someone else and I want to see who that person is.' She reasoned with herself.

"But your healley beam is so cool. Can't you just use that?" Luffy asked, not giving up his position.

"Unfortunately no I can't." 'Okay now you're flat out lying to him.' "Besides I can't do surgery either, unless ripping out the object then healing the mess counts but I can't say it would be very comfortable." Spider informed the straw hat wearing boy.

"Alright we'll look for someone else to be our doctor." He pouted. "But we still don't know what your position in the crew is." Luffy pointed out.

"Maybe I don't need one." Spider responded.

The frown on her captain's face grew comically. "That's stupid. Everyone has a place they belong to on the crew! Nami's the navigator, Sanji's the cook, Zoro's the swordsman, Usopp's the sniper, and I'm the captain. You've got that super awesome magic so maybe…" Luffy's face suddenly lit up and he was about to say more when a gauntleted hand suddenly clamped over his mouth.

"I swear if you're about to make me 'Ship's magician' me and you are going to have problems." Spider warned him and could almost feel the disappointment radiate off of him in waves. Sighing Spider released him and contemplated what she could be to the crew. "How about guardian?" She suggested thinking back to their earlier conversation. "I'll be there to protect the crew when you can't."

At this Luffy brightened again and made it official. Then the party could take place in full swing.

…

Logue Town. That was the destination they were sailing towards and it was going slowly for their captain's tastes. Constantly bouncing around the deck trying to amuse himself or laying sprawled on his 'special seat' on the Merry's figurehead yelling "It's so boring!" every few minutes.

Sanji was in the galley making lunch, Usopp tinkering with some new ammunition in the men's quarters, Nami updating her maps after tending to the new tangerine trees they'd had transported onto the Going Merry courtesy of her sister Nojiko, and Zoro was having a nap by the mast.

Spider herself was sat on a black and red deck chair by the tangerine grove enjoying the pleasant scent coming from it, instead of her usual daedric armour she wore a black polo shirt and matching shorts and running shoes (She looked like a well-dressed jogger pretty much). In her hands was a book on the recent history and events of the world she'd bought back at Nami's village. The rather strange look she'd adopted in comparison the usual armour wasn't commented on in front of her but up came the one person who thought she looked perfect no matter what.

"Spider my beautiful dove." Sanji called over to her causing him to receive a brief glance up from the book and a smile as he placed the snack and drink on the table beside her. "Enjoy my love." The cook told her with hearts in his eyes as he did what could only be described as a noodle dance away back to the kitchen.

Spider, to her credit had held the smile until he'd left and returned her attention to the book. Sanji didn't seem to get the part where she told him that she didn't physically have to eat or drink, if she did it was purely recreational as her body used magical energy to sustain itself. But every day he brought her food and drink in between meals and eventually she gave up on getting him to stop.

The drink was some kind of pink lemonade and the snack had an assortment of strawberries, biscuits and marshmallows around a chocolate dip. 'Why doesn't he give Luffy this crap, he'd appreciate more than I would.' She thought when an idea struck her. "Captain!" She called with no sense of urgency so as not to alert anyone.

"Yeah what's up!?" He replied from the other side of the ship, when he didn't get a reply Luffy made his way across the ship and over to where he knew Spider was reading and found her holding two plates in her hands with several others littering the floor around her, each containing an of an assortment of snacks she'd collected over the last few days that ranged from Ice cream to chicken kabobs.

Spider held a finger to her lips cautioning him to be quiet and he obeyed while drawing closer visibly drooling at the sight. "Captain, look at me. Luffy my eyes are up here." She managed to tear away his attention from the food. "You can have all of this so long as you promise not to tell Sanji, it'll be our secret." She told him and was surprised when Luffy lunged forward and hugged her with tears in his eyes.

"You are officially my favourite crew member." He told her while Spider just sat there holding the plates out awkwardly so they wouldn't fall.

"And you're my favourite captain, but you'd better eat these before Sanji comes back." Spider warned though the words had barely left her lips as Luffy had already started munching on the meats first then moving on to the sweet treats. "I've seen you eat countless times and it still amazes me how much you can devour."

Luffy took a few seconds to gulp down the last of the food and turned to face her, but rather than an answer he just offered her a signature smile of his and Spider found herself smiling back.

' _I'm smiling almost as much as I did in the old days_ ' she'd thought. "Are you going to go and play now that you've eaten?" Spider asked him curious as to if she'd have to go back to the "I'm bored" Luffy from a few minutes ago.

Her captain's happy demeanour drooped slightly and the smile left. "Usopp's busy making ammo, and no one else on the crew will want to" He told her.

"You didn't ask me." Spider reminded him and frowned slightly as she said so at the casual dismissal.

"Nami said that 'a mature woman like Spider wouldn't be interested so I just shouldn't ask.'" Luffy repeated what his navigator had told him.

"Luffy." Spider got his attention. "You're the captain, you can ask whatever you damn well want to ask, besides there's something Nami doesn't know, I used to be the best at hide and seek, even tag back in my home." Spider remembered back to when she used to take the children of Whiterun on play dates with her own child as the 'fun parent' all those years ago.

Luffy's face was positively beaming at this and he started bouncing around artfully dodging all the empty plates. "Really! You'll play!? Okay Hide and seek, captain's orders and you can hide first." Luffy turned and shot off to the front of the Merry and started loudly counting down from ten.

Spider readied a bluish spell in her left hand holding her book in the right and released the magical energy. Spider along with the book was now completely invisible. _'Never said I got there by playing fair'_ Spider thought cheerfully and returned to her book.

Should still see and read it due to her magical attunement, hell not even ghosts could hide from her sight at this point but she'd found it was best to ignore them, nothing can pester you more than a ghost after all.

She was now on the section about devil fruits and the information was rather disturbing. ' _Why would anyone eat one of these things if it leaves you open to so many weaknesses?_ ' Spider thought about it. ' _I suppose I have a quick and easy method to get rid of any devil fruit users now though given we are pirates and presumably most of our fights will be at sea.'_

Luffy suddenly dashed across the deck searching around the tangerine grove for his new game partner but had no luck and soon started looking elsewhere. ' _Maybe she's in the kitchen with Sanji_ ' He thought.

Waiting for him to leave Spider silently flipped to the next page in her book, the next chapter was on the different types of devil fruits.

Paramecia devil fruits are the most common and give the user superhuman powers and offer the most variation in abilities seen so far.

' _Luffy must have eaten one of those given his rubber body_.' Spider thought.

Zoan devil fruits allow the user to transform into other species and hybrid forms associated with the fruits animal at will. Many kinds have been discovered like regular animals to prehistoric and mythical creatures.

 _'Sounds strange, I wonder if that marine I threatened back on Nami's island ate a rat devil fruit.'_ She mused.

Logia are the devil fruits that give the user control over natural elements including the ability to make themselves intangible to physical attacks as the element it gives power over.

' _I know which fruit I'd rather eat, a blood related logia would be interesting to play around with though is it worth the risk of eating a mucus fruit or something equally disgusting?_ ' Spider shivered slightly at the thought, she had a high tolerance for many things including gore and even Luffy's eating habits but some things crossed a line for her.

She read a little further and found a picture depicting the life cycle of a devil fruit, when one is eaten and the user dies the fruit is reincarnated into another fruit to be eaten again. _'I'm surprised no one has openly exploited this yet.'_ She thought then turned to look at the tangerines growing behind her. _'I wonder…_ '

Spider snapped out of her thoughts when a tired looking Luffy made another round, he'd been bouncing all around the ship searching for her yet it had been fruitless. "Phew I'm beat, Spider wasn't kidding she really is the best." He said to himself as he unceremoniously flopped onto the deck chair Spider was currently occupying.

Spider's invisibility ended with a quiet 'whoosh' and Luffy found himself sitting in Spider's lap, head resting on her chest peering up at her. Eventually she smiled at him. "Comfortable down there captain?" She asked.

"Yeah." Luffy replied smiling but looked back to the front of the ship still laying his head back into Spider's breasts with a small pout. "But, I still haven't found you yet and I've looked everywhere!" He accentuated this by raising his arms and gesturing to the whole of the ship.

Spider continued to smile. _'Why do I find his idiocy so endearing?'_  
"Would you like to take a rest before looking again, I'm sure you're closer than you think."

"Good idea, a quick nap and I'll be good as new." Luffy agreed and swiftly fell asleep still on top of her lightly snoring.

Setting the book aside Spider wrapped her arms underneath Luffy's and held him in her embrace.

They stayed like that for hours as the day bled away, the sun just hanging over the horizon. That was when Nami climbed the steps to call Spider for dinner before searching for Luffy but had to cover her mouth to keep from giggling at the sight of her captain sleeping on Spider.

Spider held a finger to her lips telling her to be quiet. She reached across to the other woman's consciousness, _'Go have dinner with the others, you can have a quiet meal for once.'_ She joked.

Nami nodded to her and silently left them to join the rest of the crew, eager to share what was sure to be the main topic for the night. _'Luffy will never live this down.'_ She thought still giggling.

 _'I'll have to make sure Sanji leaves something for him.'_ Spider thought looking down at her captain's sleeping head, yet she just kept laying back in contentedness. ' _I've missed this._ '

It wasn't until the moon was high in the sky bathing the two in a silvery glow that Luffy began to stir. Groggily he rubbed his eyes and stretched before getting up from Spider's lap after she released her hold on him.

Luffy yawned and said "That was the greatest nap ever." Then his stomach rumbled and he held a hand to it smiling sheepishly. "Man I'm starving, hey where'd the sun go? How long was I asleep?" His voice growing more distressed.

"Well if today is the 7th then… you fell asleep 3 years ago today I believe." The look of terror/shock on her captain's face was priceless, until she realised he wasn't moving after a few seconds. "Captain?"

Still nothing.

Luffy was completely paralysed by the fact that he had missed over five thousand meals, his brain struggled to process the amount of food he'd have to eat to catch up.

 _'Well this isn't good.'_ She thought. Spider reached into her inventory and pulled out some spiced chicken kept indefinitely fresh by her pocket dimension. Her captain's nose twitched, on instinct he opened his mouth and quite literally bit the hand that fed him. The whole hand.

"Luffy." Spider said after a moment. "Let go of my hand." Spider saw a determined look in his slightly crazed eyes and actually felt him clamp down harder. "You'll break your teeth." Spider warned him but his position remained the same.

With a resigned sigh Spider conjured a flame spell and instantly Luffy's grip was released as he ran all over the deck screaming "HOT! HOT! HOT!" until Spider caught him by the back of his vest and covered his mouth with her hand, healing magic flowed into his burning throat and soothed his tongue causing him to make a relieved "hmmmmph." Noise into Spider's palm.

When he was let go Luffy turned to face the Dovahkiin. "That was pretty mean you know." He told her, arms crossed showing his obvious displeasure.

Ignoring the fact he was biting her Spider decided to be playful instead. _'I've been different ever since meeting this crew.'_ She concluded.  
"And what are you going to do about it Captain?" Spider asked.

"Well I'm… hmm." He tried to think and finally seemed to come up with something when his eyes lit up again. "You have to play with me whenever I'm bored. No exceptions." He added the last part with a nod of his head, evidently happy with himself.

"Alright captain you have a deal. Now, shall we see what Sanji left for us?" She asked

"Yeah I want meat!" Came his usual happy response.

The two of them left to go to the dining area and enjoyed a rowdy meal together which surprisingly didn't wake anyone up, even if it was just Luffy making most of the noise and eating all of the food.

…

Docking at the port Nami set about laying down the ground rules. "Okay a storm is going to be blowing through soon and I want to set sail before it hits. Just get the supplies we need and try not to draw attention, the marines in this town are known for capturing pirates before they even make it to the grand line."

"I wanna go see the execution stand I'll meet you guys back here." Luffy stated and shot off into the crowd.

"Luffy wait!" Nami yelled after him but it was half hearted at best. "We're dead." She said sounding a little hopeless.

"I need to buy some swords since Mihawke shattered my other two." Zoro told the group only for Nami to gain a devious smirk.

"But you don't have any money right…?" She asked him.

"Well… not exactly but-" Zoro was cut off by the navigator.

"I can loan you the money but I'll charge up to 200% interest depending on how soon you pay me back." She told him in what was clearly a practiced statement.

Spider leaned close to the swordsman and said. "I could give you two swords for free, better quality than any you'd find here."

"I prefer using katana so unless you got any of those I'll have to take the witch's offer." Zoro mumbled back.

Spider thought for a moment then pulled out a pure black katana that had an insidious aura pulsing around it. "This is the best I've got matching your request." Spider told him as she handed the sword over to him. Spider watched as Zoro appreciated the fine craftsmanship of the weapon and gave him a rundown of its traits. "It's a daedric artefact so if you hear a voice every once in a while when you use it just try to ignore her. Inflicting damage to an opponent with the blade will return a portion of the damage back to you as raw power so you'll get strength back for landing a hit." Spider explained to him.

"Daedric artefact. Does that mean it belongs to one of those princes you told us about?" He asked referencing Spider's explanations of her homeland while they were travelling.

"Technically, though now it belongs to you if you'd like since I don't have use for it."" Spider told him.

"Thanks now that just leaves one sword." He turned back to where Nami was standing and grimaced at the devious sparkle present in her eyes.

"Just take this." Spider handed him a bag with some gold coins in it after Nami had informed her exactly how valuable each one was in terms of beri here she'd been able to better judge how much to give out. "They'd be crazy not to accept gold." She told him smiling at Nami's crest fallen expression.

Zoro smirked too. "Thanks." He said before leaving.

No sooner had he left Nami was upon her. "What was that? You know you owe me for this now right? Stealing a customer like that is unforgivable." She said with her arms crossed.

"No." Spider said simply.

"Wha- but… that's not how this works!" Nami yelled.

"If that's how you want to play it." Spider said and paused for a moment as Nami's expression changed to confusion. "You owe me 3 billion berries." Spider said it with a completely straight face.

"WHAT!" Nami screamed.

"For services rendered to both you and the crew since you are the treasurer as well as the navigator, I hid your secrets from the others despite knowing it could harm them and helped you out with the money you needed to pay off Arlong regardless of if it was used for that purpose. Then I rid your village and you of the scourge which is a life debt if I've ever heard one. Then there's the personal loss of time keeping the captain from disturbing you and the other members of the crew when you are busy with your own tasks that keep the ship running or just allow everyone to relax. That's not even mentioning the food I supply him in order to satiate his appetite until the allotted meal times." As Spider listed the things she was owed for Nami paled.  
"I could go on and keep the debt running, or we could call it even right now." Spider said with a hint of smugness.

Nami only found enough will power to nod. She was dealing with a master here, not some run of the mill schmuck like most other people on the seas, She's have to be careful not to get herself tangled in Spider's web of debt let alone trying to trap Spider in hers.

"Sanji would you mind taking Nami for a shopping trip, I think she needs it." Spider asked the chef who immediately complied and rushed off with the semi reluctant navigator towards a nearby clothing store.

"That was amazing." Usopp spoke for the first time since getting off the ship. "I never thought anyone could out manoeuvre Nami when it came to money." He clarified and Spider turned to him.

"Is there anything you'd like to get from here? I think you should be able to find a tinkerers shop of some sort to explore." Spider inquired.

"Well of coarse I'd like to but I got the same problem as Zoro until you helped him out." The sniper said with a hand at the back of his neck and a nervous smile.

Spider again just handed him a bag of gold coins. "Not an issue, a well outfitted crew is one that survives, and I'm not letting any of you die on me."

Though her choice of words was rather unusual Usopp thanked her for the money and set off in search of a store.

This left Spider by herself guarding the ship, leaning against the hull. She stayed like that for an hour when a white haired man in marine attire with two cigars in his mouth walked over to her and huffed to get her attention.

"Can I help you?" Spider asked him politely. She was in a similar outfit as when she'd had that nap with Luffy and so didn't look particularly intimidating.

"That your ship?" He asked gruffly.

"It belongs to my crew yes." She responded keeping her voice even.

"Then I'm placing you and your crew under arrest on suspicion of being pirates." The man stated and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. "Don't make this any more difficult than it has to be."

Spider surprisingly complied and held her hands towards him so he could place the cuffs on her and once they were secured he placed a hand on her shoulder to guide her to the cell block only to find she didn't move an inch. He pulled and shoved but the woman refused to budge.

"Oh I'm sorry." Spider said then pulled her hands apart ripping the metal cuffs apart in the process. "Did you think this was going to be easy?"  
The tension rose tenfold as the two stared each other down though Spider seemed more to be humouring him than anything else when they were interrupted by a woman with blue hair and glasses rushing towards them.

Smoker caught sight of her. "Not now Tashigi." He told her but she continued regardless.

"Captain Smoker sir. Someone is about to be killed on the execution stand, we believe it's Straw Hat Luffy. He's surrounded by the Buggy pirates who have taken over the square." Tashigi reported briskly as the wind from the incoming storm Nami was talking about started coming through.

"Looks like we both have to be elsewhere." Spider concluded as she broke the rest of the handcuffs off of her wrists. "I'll be going now. She told the two a little indifferently only for her voice to grow several times darker, the air itself growing still and the temperature dropping ten degrees as her final words to the two left her lips. "Don't be here when I get back."

This left the two of them paralysed for a few minutes as they watched her retreating form. It was a mystery how the words had had such an effect on seasoned Marine officers but the fact remained, even if it was for a moment. She scared them.

Spider powered through the streets towards where the centre of the commotion appeared to be not doubting that it would lead her to Luffy. 'Why does he have to get into so much trouble?' She thought ruefully but shook it from her head. 'Like I'm any better.'

As she drew close Spider sensed a presence strikingly similar to her captain's, only this one was… stronger. Curious she dipped into an alley and followed until she reached the end. In the opening was a cloaked man watching Luffy on the execution stand with a small, almost imperceptible smile.

Now the storm was in full swing as lightening flashed across the sky. _'This isn't entirely natural weather.'_ Spider surmised as she approached the cloaked figure.

"So what's he to you?" Spider asked when she was next to him. He looked at her in slight surprise having not noticed her approach earlier. "I'm just making sure my captain doesn't have any stalkers." She joked to ease his concern.

"Shouldn't you be rushing to save him like those two?" He asked nodding to Sanji and Zoro who had appeared on the scene.

Spider took a look at the two and analysed the situation. "They won't make it in time, and while I could act, something tells me you've got this handled." She told him.

"Dragon." The man said to her. "My name is Monkey D. Dragon."

"Interesting, I'll be sure to look after your child." Spider replied still looking to the execution stand.

"You know I'm his father?" Dragon asked her.

"You have similar auras so I assumed you were." Spider explained as Luffy yelled his desire to become 'king of the pirates' in front of all the pirates in the square.

"What about when it's a choice." He turned to Spider revealing his half tattooed face as lightning struck the execution stand reducing it to rubble, giving him an intimidating look. "Between your life and his?"

"Luffy has my life in his hands but luckily I can't die. Believe me, I've tried." Spider responded not the slightest bit thrown off by his appearance or display of power. Staring down a daedric prince and winning will do that to you.

Dragon didn't ask, he just nodded and turned back to the chaos in the square as marine's and pirates fought with the Straw Hat's trying to escape a certain captain smoker who had revealed his devil fruit power. _'What came first, his smoking addiction or the fruit?'_ Spider thought absently as she left Dragon to go back to the ship.

Luffy had never divulged anything from his past and though Spider had told the crew of her homeland, no one knew of her own history either.

Exiting the network of alleyways she continued thinking on how little everyone knew about each other's past. _'Something for another time. As we travel there'll be the addition of more crew members and I'll be less inclined to repeat myself.'_

Turning the corner on the final street Spider came across the marine who had attempted to accost her earlier, pinning her captain to the ground using his logia powers to press his advantage and keep Luffy from twisting out of his grasp.

"I'm taking you in Straw Hat Luffy, in the name of justice." Smoker him with a gruff sense of victory in his voice.

Spider snapped. Crossing the distance at inhuman speed she grabbed the marine captain by his throat and smashed him into the nearby building causing a crater to form as it crumbled under the force. "You dare speak to us of justice." Spider gripped him tighter cutting off his airway with each word applying more pressure. No matter how hard Smoker clawed or tried to use his devil fruit powers it was useless, nothing worked.

Luffy had gotten up at this point and tentatively approached the two. "Spider its okay, we've got to-"

"The Conomi islands." Spider spoke and relieved enough pressure that Smoker could choke in some air. "Eight years Arlong, a known pirate terrorised those people and made a little girl his slave. All while you sat here with the power to stop him and did nothing." She leaned in closer to his face so they almost touched and to Smoker the entire world disappeared, all except for Spider. Her emerald eyes burned as if an unholy fire raged within her as they turned to draconic slits. Fear gripped him as for a moment he caught a glimpse of the demon she had become.

A pitch black dragon head on a malformed human-dragon body adorned in demonic armour that was covered in black scales, claws sharper than any sword cleaving into his neck as his breath was once again taken away. Large black wings sprouted from her back completing the demon dragon hybrid look but worst of all was the overwhelming aura of despair she radiated around her, consuming everything.

With a low draconic growl she watched the life start draining from his eyes as his very essence was being devoured when a hand on her shoulder made her stop. Turning Spider saw her captain looking at her without a speck of fear, only concern. (Though that was likely because her power wasn't being directed at him).

Spider released Smoker and he fell to the floor in a coughing fir holding his throat that had already started to bruise. "You're alive because of Luffy. Don't waste it again." Her voice was low and demonic.

Turning to her captain Spider's form shimmered and seemingly blew away with the strong winds until she was once again stood in the rain wearing her daedric armour sans the helm. She nodded to her captain who nodded back and wordlessly they made their way back to the Going Merry.

...

"You can't go up a mountain!" Zoro exclaimed as they headed towards the Red Line, the water currents pulling them towards it.

"Then what do you call this!" Nami yelled back at him as they managed to hit the river at the right angle to escape smashing against the rocks, and the ship actually started travelling up the mountain.

"This is impossible!" Spider heard Zoro shout back but quickly lost interest in the conversation and returned to another book Nami 'procured' from a shop back in Logue town.

She was reading about the so called 'New World' which was really just the second half of the Grand Line and the many strange things that happened there. She read about the Four Emperors and Seven Warlords in more detail too. "I want to fight this one." Spider talked out loud looking at a picture of Kaido. "I'd befriend this one." Gesturing to Boa Hancock. She turned a page. This one was dedicated to the officers of the Big Mom pirates, scanning over them she stopped on a particularly tall and muscular man with short spikey crimson hair. He wore a black scarf with white fur covering the fringes and had it wrapped around in such a way that it covered the bottom half of his face. The name Katakuri plastered above his head on the page. "And I'd sleep with him." She concluded to Luffy who was sat beside her. "Now it's your turn."

The Going Merry burst through the clouds yet continued on its upward trajectory rising further up the Red Line as Spider showed Luffy how the game worked, her own version of snog, marry, kill.

"Well the guy you picked last looks strong so I'd fight him." Luffy declared pointing to the picture of Katakuri. "Go back a few pages… stop, I'd be friends with that guy." He said as Spider stopped on the page focusing on Donqixote Doflamingo, his wide and almost insane grin paired with the strange glasses hiding his eyes left a rather distinct impression.

"Might I ask why you would be friends with someone named the 'Heavenly Demon' captain?" Spider inquired given that this warlord appeared to be on a different wavelength than her captain. Just looking at him gave her the feeling that eventually she'd have him on the end of her blade. ' _If I don't have to give him up to my captain that is.'_

"I like his coat." Luffy said simply and gestured to the bright pink fluffy coat Doflamingo wore.

She accepted the answer despite the misgivings she had about the man's look and waited for the final selection, admittedly she was curious as to who Luffy would choose to sleep with.

"Hmmm." Luffy gained a contemplative expression as he thought back on all the people he'd seen in Spider's book. _'Who would be the most comfortable, can't pick Mingo again even if his coat looks soft. Would any of them bring a midnight snack?'_ Suffice to say Luffy did not understand what his crew mate meant by 'sleep with' one of them.

Just as it looked like he was about to make a decision the Merry tipped over the edge and began the descent down the other side of the great land mass and towards the Grand Line.

Luffy's eyes widened and he shot away towards the bow of the ship and perched on his special seat as excitement took over the boy. They were finally here!

"Hey guys!? Why is there a mountain in the way!?" Usopp yelled out pointing to the huge black wall at the foot of the Red Line.

Spider immediately stood and stormed towards the front of the ship and shouted a single word with enough force to slow the Merry down. **"BO!" (MOVE!).**

Suddenly the wall of blubber shifted back before splashing down and disappearing into the ocean's depths though the shadow below the water remained showing the colossal size of the animal. This allowed the Straw Hat's to dock by the lighthouse that was nearby.

An old man was sat outside looking from the Going Merry where all the crew was watching him, to the slowly rising mass as the whale resurfaced. "You guys aren't looking to hurt Laboon are you?" He asked them.

Spider took in the strange hair style and peacock headwear the man wore as well as the holiday like clothing. Dismissing it as something that was common to this world. 'I'm sure I'll come across much stranger things on this adventure.'  
"Not at all, your whale was just blocking the way so I told him to move." Spider explained and was pleasantly surprised to find the man didn't demand an explanation or even call her crazy. She hated it when people called her insane, even if it was sometimes true.

"Good, because if you did someone would have to get hurt." He stated in a serious tone.

"Oh yeah! And who would that be?" Usopp asked with broken confidence in his voice as he took a single step behind Spider just in case.

"Me." The old man replied.

This caused a fuss over if the old man was just trying to annoy them but eventually led to an exchange of names and stories. Spider listened to Crocus's explanation of Laboon and his pirate crew that had to leave him due to the whale being too young. Luffy at this point was busy playing with said whale as the two made a game of splashing each other. Luffy was losing.

Then she heard about the two people who were attacking the poor creature. The whale already had deep scars on his head from bashing into the Red Line, to think people would hurt him even more upset some of the other more sympathetic Straw Hats.

"Hey old man, what do those people look like?" Luffy asked weakly having been sufficiently soaked in sea water from the island whale.

"Like that." Crocus said pointing to a small boat that carried two relatively well dressed people aiming rocket launchers at Laboon. The male wore a dark green suit, white lace trimming his collar and sleeves, a crown adorned his head, though a discerning eye could clearly make out the cheap materials. The woman had long light blue hair and wore a light green jacket with a purple and light blue vest underneath. Her white shorts were matched by white boots.

Spider watched in slight irritation as the two fired their weapons towards the whale, before Luffy could gum gum rocket himself towards the deadly projectile and more than likely drown trying to save Laboon, she raised a hand to the rockets. Suddenly they stopped mid-air as Spider's magic held them in place.

A small grim smirk adorned Spider's features as she turned the rockets back to the original owners and sent the crashing back towards them. The two promptly abandoned ship screaming and just managed to make it out of the blast radius when the boat exploded sending splinters of wood in all directions.

"What should we do with them when they get here captain?" Spider asked turning to the others only to see Luffy and Usopp right behind her with stars in their eyes both mouthing the words 'so cool' at her. She rolled her eyes and just opted to wait for the offenders to swim their way to shore. Sure enough they dragged themselves up to the lighthouse by the Merry.

"Would either of you like to explain why you're trying to kill Laboon?" Spider asked them with relative politeness given the situation, her captain had taken a liking to the creature after all, it won't do for someone to try and kill it.

"ARE YOU CRAZY!? YOU COULD HAVE KILLED US!" The girl screamed at her once she could stand.

All pretence of politeness gone Spider stepped up to the other woman and both physically and mentally, towered the now very fearful girl. "That is still subject to change Joor" (Mortal)

Spider was soon whisked away by Luffy to see if she could do anything about Laboon's scars while the others talked to the two offenders. This way it was less likely for anyone to die.

Spider listened idly as the two explained their reason for hunting Laboon (We came from Whiskey Peak the next island over, we need him for food, everyone will starve before long) while she washed the whale in restoration magic and the scars on his body faded away and instead fresh and healthy flesh stood in its place. The two who had identified themselves as Ms Wednesday and Mr 9 had slack jawed looks on their faces when Spider turned around to hear the rest of their story.

"No I didn't eat a devil fruit, I use magic." Spider told them pre-emptively answering their question. "Now would you be so kind as to tell everyone your real names before we depart to this Whiskey Peak."

"We're sworn to secrecy by the organisation we're a part of unfortunately so our identities can't be revealed." Mr 9 stated as if he was repeating something he'd said a thousand times before.

Fine if that's how they want to handle this. Spider reached across with her consciousness towards the minds of the two, gently sifting through their heads and learning who they really were. She looked to Ms Wednesday with a smile the devil himself would die for. "How interesting, it's been a while since I've partook in a war."

The colour drained from Ms Wednesday's face and her eyes were wide as saucers.

"War? Spider what are you talking about?" Sanji asked her.

"Nothing." She told him as her expression went to a blank one. "I'll be on the ship if you need anything but we should get going soon, don't want to keep those people waiting." Spider said as she went to board the ship.

…

Docking at Whiskey Peak was easier than expected given the entire town had thrown the pirates a party, the mayor being a particularly jovial fellow and insisting they use the food and drink to welcome the new arrivals. Luffy looked fatter then Spider had ever seen him, Sanji had girls all over him, Usopp had followers listening to his every story, Zoro was drinking and Nami was scamming everyone in a drinking contest.

Spider stood in the building leaning against the back wall resisting everyone's attempts to get her to drink something and lighten up. These came from both her crew and the town's folk though she didn't know how she was meant to relax when everyone in there had such hostile intent directed at her crew.

 _'I dread to think what they would do without me.'_ She thought to herself as the party seemed to slowly die down. Eventually people had forgotten she was even there as she blended into the background.

The Straw Hats were all sleeping in the early hours of the morning and that was predictably when the plan to betray them started being discussed. By the more prominent members. Mr 8 and Ms Monday were stood in the doorway with Ms Wednesday and Mr 9 outside.

"I can't believe how long it took for them to go out, we're practically out of food." The heavyset partner of the mayor said as she folded her arms.

"Yes but with their bounties it will be worth it, the boy is worth 42 million berries and the woman wearing the armour has a 30 million berry bounty. Enough to keep us going for a long time ma ma maaa."

"That's if you can claim it." Zoro said from above them on a nearby rooftop. "You guys didn't really think we'd be so trusting did you?"

Spider then saw Nami get up and start looting since the only people awake were distracted by the commotion going on outside. _'I've got to give those two credit at least.'_ She thought to herself.

Spider walked towards the group talking with Zoro. Well 'talking' was pushing it a bit since Zoro was now fighting dozens of henchman, presumably bounty hunters themselves, just when the four elite players in this place began to make a move to go after him Spider appeared behind them.

"Try it and I'll kill you." Her voice rang with a serious tone, one that told the group she was not joking around and would quite literally end their very existence in a heartbeat.

Ms Monday turned on their new opponent and without hesitating raised a fist swinging at the woman in the doorway. To her surprise Spider caught the fist and held it in place effortlessly even as Ms Monday struggled against the grip.

"Let her go!" Came a cry from Ms Wednesday as she equipped her peacock slashers.

"Quiet princess." Spider retorted tightening her grasp on the other woman who was clearly in pain given the expression she was pulling.

Ms Wednesday gasped and took a step back along with the mayor leaving a confused Mr 9 wondering about their reaction but it was quickly forgotten when his companion let out a scream indicating Spider was crushing her hand again.

"I'll say this one more time, and I don't care is your country does hang in the balance. Stand down or I will tear each of your spines out through your throat and mount the corpses on a few of those graves." Spider threatened indicating the thousands of gravestones that marked the bounty hunters' history in Whiskey Peak.

Spider had decided to forgo wearing her daedric helm with her armour though the deathly cold in her voice and malice they could see in her eyes revealed she wasn't lying about killing them, it was as if they were surrounded by her presence and every word was irrefutable truth.

Once Spider decided they were sufficiently terrified of her she released Ms Monday who immediately dropped and dragged herself away from the demonic figure.

Just as it looked like Spider would be able to properly converse with them without being attacked Luffy came up from behind her. "Excuse me, need to take a leak." He told her slipping past despite his heavily rounded form even managing to fit through the door. He seemed fine until he saw Zoro beating up the people that just a few hours ago had been partying with the Straw Hats.

Spider could see the twist in her captain's face and the tensing of his muscles, reacting instantly she had a hand on his shoulder halting him from advancing on his first mate.  
"Do you trust your crew?" She asked him.

Luffy rounded on Spider looking directly into her emerald eyes. "With my life." Luffy responded quickly and confidently.

"Then trust that he has a good reason, I'll explain once you get back from… your errand." Spider told him slightly cringing at her own words.

Luffy said nothing but nodded and headed off towards the docking area leaving Spider alone with the still horrified group of Baroque Works agents.

She turned to them. "I'll cut to the chase, I know about your situation Vivi but the question is are you going to make it back to stop Crocodile before he destroys your country?" Spider asked.

"How… how do you know about that?" She managed to get out despite her current state.

"I can use magic, I can do almost anything you can think of including read minds." Spider told her honestly, it was just an easier explanation of her abilities if she said they were magic without getting too complicated.

"Wait you're actually a princess?" Mr 9 asked incredulously.

"More to the point three people have arrived on the island, two of which are carrying hostile intent towards you two." Spider looked pointedly at Vivi and Igaram. "So if you two want to live long enough to have a chance at living I suggest you ask my captain for help, he has a soft spot for these things."

Ms Monday and Mr 9 looked from Spider to their partner/superior. "What is she talking about?" They asked in unison.

"My name is Vivi Nefertari princess of the Alabasta and this is my loyal servant Igaram. The leader of Baroque works wants to destroy my home country Alabasta and turn it into one that he'll be able to rule over, I joined so that I could find out who it was and save my people from the civil war he's igniting back home. I've been able to discover his identity but if what Spider says is true then he knows I know and sent someone to kill me and Igaram." Vivi told the two agents unsure of how they would react upon finding out she wasn't truly one of them.

"That's exactly what we came here to do." A voice came from just down the road as a pair of oddly dressed individuals sauntered down the path. The male wore a pair of sunglasses and a brown trench coat with the number 5 embedded on it. The woman wore a yellow and orange hat with a yellow dress that had lemons on it as a pattern. She also carried a parasol with blue stripes.

"Don't bother trying to run, I'd hate to make the boss worry any longer than he already has been." The lady said to them while offhandedly swinging her parasol.

Ms Monday and Mr 9 were the first to stand in order to get between the incoming pair and their comrades.

"Don't worry, we'll stop them." Mr 9 told Vivi.

"I'll take your friendship over anything the boss could offer me." Ms Monday confirmed causing the two targets to feel strengthened at the prospect of having allies even after revealing their betrayal.

"No need" Spider said stepping through the gap between Ms Monday and Mr 9. "These two would destroy you in a fight anyway."

"What makes you say th-" Mr 9 didn't manage to finish his sentence as an explosion right in front of him sent the man flying into a nearby wall making a crater he slowly sunk down into.

"That." Spider replied as she kept walking towards her new opponents.

"Wait! They'll kill you too! STOP!" Vivi screamed after the woman but silenced herself when Spider took a direct hit from an explosion but remained standing, in fact the woman continued walking as if nothing had even hit her.

The look of shock on both Mr 5 and Ms Valentine's face was priceless though to Spider it made little difference, they wouldn't be alive for long anyway. Spider was soon upon them and in retaliation Ms Valentine jumped into the air floating their getting into position above the Dragonborn.

Spider spared the woman a glance before releasing a single word of power. "FUS!" This sent her sailing into the night and out of view allowing Spider to focus on her other opponent.

"The hell!?" He exclaimed but soon recovered. "Screw it I'm ending this, 'full body explosion!'" Mr 5 yelled dashing towards Spider closing the remainder of the distance for her.

Spider drew a daedric dagger and quickly stabbed it into the man's chest effectively cancelling his explosive move. She dragged the blade down severing the centre of his rib cage before ripping the dagger away and sheathing it. Ignoring the cries of pain from her victim Spider tore into his chest cavity with her left hand and readied a bluish spell in her right, when she'd found the right organ Spider pulled her bloodied hand out holding Mr 5's heart then shoved her right hand in front of him covering the wound in frost magic closing the injury and keeping the blood trapped in his body, forcing him to stay alive for a little longer in excruciating pain that from his screams must have been nightmarish.

"Why don't you hold onto this." Spider opened the man's hand placing his heart inside then closed it for him. Despite his condition Mr 5 pathetically kept pressing the organ against his chest as if hoping it would connect back into his body.

A few moments passed as Spider watched the display, clear contempt for the man before her rested in her gaze. Then his partner came hurtling down from the sky directly over Spider's head screaming "10,000 KILOGRAM GUILLOTINE!"

As the woman rocketed closer, Spider reached up and caught her ankle without so much as giving a look in her direction, easily keeping the huge weight aloft. Swiftly Spider smashed Ms Valentine forward into the dirt still holding the limb. In one smooth motion she drew her sword and severed her opponent's leg at the knee.

Spider moved past her writhing figure blatantly ignoring the screams until she was beside the woman's head, Spider proceeded to smash the severed limb into Ms Valentine's head knocking her unconscious with the impact. Her still body slowly bleeding out onto the ground.

Vivi's legs gave out and she fell back towards the ground on Spider's approach only for a pair of hands to catch her, turning she saw the straw hat boy, the captain smiled at her and suddenly Spider didn't seem so scary. It was strange but the two balanced each other.

Luffy looked up from the princess and at Spider. "You know I don't mind if you defend yourself but do you really have to go so far?" He asked the Dovahkiin.

"This way they can't come after us again, it's a mistake I've made one too many times in the past." Spider replied.

"Even so it doesn't feel right to me. Try not to do it unless one of us is in danger, that's an order." Luffy commanded. The two locked eyes and didn't break contact until Spider nodded her agreement on the matter.

The rest of the crew was awakened and gathered to get updated on the situation and discuss their next voyage. Nami had looted the place and Zoro beat everyone who'd tried to capture them barring the four agents they were now conversing with.

"Princess, I'll go ahead in a different ship disguised as you to throw them off your trail." Igaram stated showing he was determined in this course of action.

"Or," Spider interjected. "You could let me take care of any would be assailant as and when they appear."

"And needlessly endanger Princess Vivi!? No it's far safer if I go." He argued back.

"I won't let you die for me Igaram, I would never forgive myself or be able to face Terracotta if something happened." Vivi told him tearing up slightly.

"The fate of our country hangs in the balance Princess, it won't matter if a servant makes it back, the people need to hear it from you and I'll risk my life to ensure you get the chance to tell them." He replied kindly.

"And don't you worry, we'll be sure to get her home." Nami reassured him, only for her eyes to turn into berry signs. "For the low low price of a billion berries." She finished.

"Of course you'd be thinking about money at a time like this." Usopp sighed and received a swift knock to the head for his trouble leaving him to nurse a bump that was forming.

"If we do this stuff for free how will we be able to buy supplies and survive, someone has to think about these things." Nami reasoned.

"And it's not actually a bad plan to have a distraction go on ahead to draw the heat away from us." Zoro voiced.

"Then we'd better get moving otherwise the 'unluckies' will get word back that we're alive." Igaram said and quickly went to hide in order to get changed.

Luffy for once was rather quiet and when Spider looked to him she saw he was staring off towards the edge of the town. "Do you think they taste good?" He suddenly asked causing everyone else to turn to where he was looking.

At the end of the road was an otter and vulture who were busy scribbling down something on pieces of paper. Once they realised they had everyone's attention they turned the papers around and revealed several well drawn sketches of each member of the Straw Hats.

"Oh no." Vivi said. "They report directly to Crocodile and with those pictures every Baroque Works agent will know what you look like." She told them with panicked eyes.

Rather than respond with words Spider summoned a ball of flame in her hand and looked right at Vivi who stared back. Spider then sent the spell flying towards the two animals who unfortunately didn't react fast enough to escape and were engulfed in the flames when the fireball impacted the ground in front of them. Once the light faded all that remained were two blackened corpses and the ashes of the paper they carried.

"That takes care of that problem." Sanji broke the silence.

…

Now back on the Merry Vivi had said a tear filled goodbye to Igaram and watched as he set sail along with Mr 9 and Ms Monday as his back up in case they really were pursued.  
He was using an eternal pose to get to Alabasta while the Straw Hat's would go the long way around to make them harder to follow, they were now on their way to Little Garden. The straw Hat's were also introduced to Karoo, Vivi's animal companion.

The ship carrying the fake Vivi was still visible in the distance and close enough for them to hear the explosion as it went up in flames.

"IGARAM!" Vivi screamed only to feel Spider's hand on her shoulder.

"Hold on." She told the girl. Spider sensed they were still alive and wondered briefly how that was until a voice came from somewhere to her right.

"Lucky you thought to send a decoy." The feminine character called out.

"Yeah I guess." Usopp replied. "That was almost Vivi too."

"They're alive." Spider informed them. "Currently swimming back to shore."

"How can you tell?" Vivi asked turning to the blonde.

"Magic. Everyone has an aura, I can still see theirs is alive and moving back towards Whiskey Peak." Spider explained which calmed the young princess. She then turned to the woman wearing a purple cowgirl get-up complete with the hat, and crossed her arms.  
"You work with Crocodile." Spider's tone wouldn't be mistaken for a question, it was stating a fact.

Everyone else on the crew rounded on the newcomer as if noticing her for the first time and each having their own shocked expressions over the fact someone had snuck onto their ship without them noticing.

"That would be correct." Ms All Sunday responded casually sitting on the railing above them.

"So you're one of the people trying to destroy Vivi's country." Luffy came forward to look up at the woman.

"I have my own reasons for allying with Crocodile, her country is just collateral damage." Ms All Sunday replied a little coldly.

"Captain?" Spider asked and received a small nod from the now steely eyed Straw hat boy. She raised a hand towards the woman and an eerie purple glow appeared around Spider's hand and chains were conjured around Ms All Sunday, the panic in her eyes was clear, obviously not expecting anything like this.

She fell from the railing towards the deck of the ship but was caught by Sanji before she could hit the floor and was gently placed against the wall.

Spider came up to face Ms All Sunday who was struggling against the restraints. "A woman after my own heart." She said. "But Crocodile has no idea what kind of ally his enemy has just made." Something positively feral in her smile.

Spider reached out with her consciousness and delved into the woman's mind sensing the fear of what will happen before she could get to the poneglyph followed by regret, she just had to try to play with them a bit didn't she?

 _'Don't feel too bad about it, after all I've killed creatures stronger than anything on this world so you never stood a chance in the first place.'_ Spider's voice echoed in her head. _'"Nico Robin" that's a nice name.'_ Spider sifted through Robin's head gleaning information from her memories from the past few months. _'Interesting_.'

Spider retreated from the woman's mind and took in the shocked eyes she was becoming all too familiar with. "Thank you for coming, you've been very useful."

Luffy then stepped up and placed a hand on the magical chains ripping them off causing the spell to shatter. The straw hat shadowed Luffy's eyes as he said to Robin. "I want you to give Crocodile a message, I'm coming to kick his ass."

Before she could so much as reply Robin vanished in a purplish fiery mist that swirled around her, Moments later the mist slowly dissipated leaving no trace of the Baroque Works agent

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" The whole crew screamed at Spider, who else could it have been?

"I transported her to Crocodile. It was faster than letting her travel by sea." Spider said as if it was obvious.

"If you can teleport people then why not send us to Crocodile so we can kick his ass now!?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah we could've avoided so much trouble using that." Nami chimed in.

The others then started adding their own voices to the argument against her, except Sanji who was simultaneously defending Spider and agreeing with Nami.

 **"Niid."** (No) The single word silenced them all, its meaning crystal clear despite being in a language they couldn't understand. "If I do everything for you and you achieve your dreams the easy way then what was the journey for? Wouldn't you rather work hard and earn what you all strive for?" She asked them and from the quiet she could tell they knew she was right.

Vivi spoke first. "That may be true but my country is on the brink of collapse and the sooner we get there the better chance we have of saving it."

"And what if I wasn't here?" Spider asked. "Because I'll let you in on a secret, this story has an end already and the only reason I'm here is a daedric prince wants to keep me occupied before I decide it would be a better use of my time to kill the rest of his kind for all they've done to me."

Everyone was quiet letting it sink in that even though they were living through this themselves right now, their fate was already decided.

Spider composed herself before speaking again. "If I take you straight to your country then there's no telling who's story I mess up along the way, a crew member missed, a conflict unresolved or even an enemy left to roam. It's not a risk I'm willing to take."

A long silence stretched over the crew with only the quiet rocking of the ship. Until a sudden and loud grumbling sound came from the captain's gut causing everyone to focus their attention on him.

Luffy looked a little embarrassed and had his hand on the back of his head while grinning. "Sorry, I kind of ruined the moment huh?"

Everyone sweat dropped at this with mumbles of 'typical' and the like going around and the crew started moving away getting to their own business, Sanji in particular heading to the kitchen before their captain even had to ask.

This left Spider and Vivi together on deck, one awkwardly looking down clearly conflicted on the situation and the other patiently awaiting the response to her earlier explanation.  
"It won't go the same way."

Vivi suddenly looked up when Spider spoke to her. "What do you mean?"

"I might want the journey to remain as intact as possible but any situation we encounter won't go as it did when I wasn't here. It's difficult to explain but know that the timeline where you all went through this without me, Crocodile was facing an inexperienced pirate group and wayward princess, now he's facing a two thousand year old hero of legend, slayer of the dragon god of destruction and daedric prince of enslavement. Neither the armies of mortal or god have been able to defeat me. If this joor believes himself capable of succeeding where countless others have failed, then I look forward to crushing that fantasy" Spider finished her speech and swiftly left to her quarters in order to make preparations for the conflict ahead. It was time to show the crew just how good she was at dismantling an evil scheme.

The door swung shut behind her and inside Nami was sat on her bed with an oddly blank expression clearly mulling over what Spider had said and when she entered suddenly looked over to her, a new conflicted emotion spreading.

"Is what you said true?" Nami asked having finally decided on a course of action.

"Every word." Spider replied as she strode towards the centre of the room. With a wave of her hand she conjured a round table of daedric design as it had wicked spikes protruding from regular intervals, on it were several large sheets of paper with information scribbled down that she had gleaned from Crocodile's agent.

"If you know that 'our story' has an end already then why are you even here if you know what's going to happen?" Nami's expression was replaced with a determined look.

Spider briefly looked up from her notes to answer. "I haven't the slightest idea what's going to happen, think of this as a book that I'm in the middle of reading, I know it has a end but I'm here reading the first chapters. Only difference being I can have a very drastic effect on what happens."

"And that's all we are to you? Characters in a book!?" Nami yelled at Spider causing the Dovahkiin to fully remove herself from her planning to face the distressed navigator.

"I have never considered anyone I have befriended to be a mere character. Of the worlds I've visited so far I've forged bonds with people ranging from the last known dragon rider to a saviour of the galaxy. Even so I've not felt anything with them like I feel here, you're all special and I'm honoured to be considered part of this crew." The two women were quiet for a while as Nami thought over what was said and Spider cursed herself for letting a crew mate think like that, even if it was someone she didn't always get along with.

"Thanks. I needed to hear that, I'll make sure the rest of the crew know too while you're busy in here." Nami finally responded and made her exit.

Spider turned back to the table and studied the papers looking at one in particular. A man named Bentham AKA: Mr 2 is meant to trick the population into believing their king has betrayed them, admitting to using 'dance powder' to make it rain in the capital by transforming into him using his devil fruit.

"Hardly seems worth my time if I can foil the other plan." She looked to separate sheet which detailed a Ms Merry Christmas and Mr 4 kidnapping King Cobra in order for Mr 2's plan to work without suspicion.

"A few wards in his room and capable guards should do the trick, Sanji would be perfect given his combat ability and perhaps Usopp and Nami too just to keep them safe." She decided.

The new location of the rebel base being close to the port town of Nanohana rather than half way across the country was useful information to say the least. "If nothing else I could end this would be war by taking out the rebel leaders." Spider quickly shook her head to clear the idea. "I'll let Vivi talk them to death."

Finishing up Spider looked to the last sheet with any relevant information pertaining to her plan of attack. Crocodile's headquarters is situated at some place called Rain Base and the best way to stop someone is to go straight for the head. "That will be where Luffy, Zoro and myself go."

With the plan in place and everyone having their own role to play provided she could get them to agree to it Spider gathered the papers and set out to find Luffy. She needed the Captain's permission after all.

...

The island of Little Garden was just coming into view as a speck in the distance and Spider could feel the presence of two large lifeforms inhabiting the island as well as one other in the ocean itself. drawing closer it looked more like a jungle than anything.

"This is it! Our second island in the Grand Line!" Luffy yelled out from his special seat on the Merry's figure head.

Though as the Straw Hat's entered deeper into the island via a river they started to argue about the possible dangers of the island, those being the giant monsters Usopp was raving about.

"Look I'm sure we can make it to the next island without going to shore on this one!" Usopp exclaimed in a clearly panicked voice.

"The only way to reset the log is to go ashore." Nami responded.

"Not to mention we're in dire need of restocking our food supply, we didn't get so much as a sack of flower in the last town and we can't rely on Spider's supply of food forever." Sanji added.

A loud screeching noise suddenly erupted from the skies above the jungle causing almost everyone to cover their ears.

"The hell is that screeching?" Nami asked.

"It's alright love, only a bird and perfectly harmless just like this jungle so nothing to worry about." Sanji replied easily to the orange haired girl who was currently looking absolutely terrified along with their sniper at the large bird taking a dive straight for their chef.

Just when it looked like the creature would grasp Sanji in it's talons a shard of Ice pierced it's skull instantly killing the bird and sending it careening to the other side of the river, pinned against an even larger tree.

"Whoa that's huuuuuge! Could be tasty!" Luffy announced when an explosion rocked the island.

"That definitely doesn't sound like something you'd hear in a normal jungle."

"IT SOUNDED LIKE A VOLCANO ERUPTING, WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!" Usopp screamed at the top of his lungs when a hand covered his mouth to cease the noise.

"Grow up, we have a mission to complete. Remember that." Spider told the boy sternly. Everyone was offset by her sudden change in behaviour since picking up Vivi, she wasn't as easy going or smiling as much, as if when she was 'given a mission' as she put it, then it was her top priority.

This was when a large tiger appeared from the jungle, striding along the river bank perfectly in line with the Going Merry causing Nami and Usopp to start sweating but as per Spider's orders they held it in so as to not seem quite so scared.

Suddenly the tiger roared then keeled over covered in blood stains. "WHAT! This isn't normal, what are we going to do against Something that can kill a giant tiger with one blow without us even seeing it!" Nami yelled being unable to hold back any further.

Spider released Usopp and went to the front of the ship. "There are currently four of us that aren't useless in combat, shouldn't be too difficult."

This gained some startled looks from the crew, a loud 'hmph' from the three she was clearly taking a dig at, and a hearty laugh from Zoro. "What do you mean four? Can't seriously be counting ero-cook over there can you?"

"You wanna go moss head, bring it on!" Sanji yelled back, an intense staring contest quickly took place with no one daring to intervene. Except one.

Spider walked calmly in between the two. "Sanji said we need food supplies, if the captain agrees then I'm assigning you two to the job."

"Who the hell put you in charge?" Zoro asked.

"Anything for you Spider my darling." Sanji replied doing his signature noodle dance in the background.

"Yeah sounds like a good idea but first, Sanji, make a great big pirate lunch with lots of meat and no veggies, I'm going to need lots of energy." Luffy joined the conversation smiling like a mad man.

"Hey where do you think you're going? you need to stay here." Nami cried.

"Oh you know, fun stuff." Luffy replied looking even happier and excited.

 _'Out there is something dangerous enough to grind a mammoth tiger into paste and e still wants to_ _go!'_ Usopp inwardly bemoaned.

Vivi looked thoughtful for a moment before asking. "Say Luffy, would you mind if I come along too?"

"Sure sounds great." Luffy responded merrily.

"WHAT!? Vivi you can't be serious!" Nami interjected.

"Well yeah, I'd rather not sit here with nothing to do but worry about my troubles, this will keep me busy till the log's reset." Vivi told her new friend.

Spider quickly went over to put out the next fire, resting a hand on Nami's shoulder before she could protest more. "Let them go, Luffy will keep her safe. Though if it makes you feel better." Spider raised her right hand and drew an unfamiliar symbol in the air which shot forward and onto Vivi's wrist.  
"That will tell me if you're in any danger I should worry about."

"Oh, thank you." Vivi said while marvelling over the new mark.

Before long Sanji had packed a lunch for Luffy, Vivi and Karoo who had been dragged along, everyone waved them off telling the trio to be safe then did the same when Zoro and Sanji set off to find food.

The two were clearly making it a competition by the conversation they were having as they walked away which is why Spider called out after them. "Just because we have a Luffy doesn't mean it's all about meat, find any fruits or plant life of nutritional value too!"

The cook and swordsman nodded back at her then made a sub competition by who could find the most edible plant life as a bonus to the meat they'd hunt.

"I don't understand why those two have to be so competitive all the time." Nami spoke out after the two had disappeared from view.

"If it makes you feel any better I don't understand either." Usopp told the navigator.

"Their personalities conflict with each other but Luffy's forged a bond between them so the closest they'll get to all out fighting are these competitions." Spider helpfully informed the two.

Nami nodded, it made sense. "I'm surprised you haven't run off too since there'd be plenty to explore on this island, not like you'd be in any danger."

"I'd be a fool to leave you two alone, you have no training and wouldn't be able to handle being by yourselves in this environment, honestly if they'd left you before I asked them too then I wouldn't have much respect for them." Spider responded to her.

"You know, you can go from super stern to really caring in a flash. It's kinda weird." Usopp spoke as if in deep thought.

"Side effect of immortality, you develop a few quirks along the way." Spider smiled at him, the first one in at least a week.

"Hold on a minute, I swear I've read a book recently with Little Garden in it." Nami suddenly proclaimed while heading for the women's quarters.

"You did, it's called 'Brag men' an explorer's diary, talks about how the island is stuck in the prehistoric era." Spider told her before she could enter.

"So that means..." Nami stopped when booming foot falls were heard coming towards them.

Spider looked to the side of the ship seeing that one of the large life forms she'd sensed coming closer though it had no hostile intent. Looking to the other two she could see fear plainly etched on their faces as they looked up at the towering giant that just appeared through the trees. "Don't scream, he's friendly." Spider warned them.

"How can you tell he doesn't want to eat us and use our bones as tooth picks!?" Usopp asked clearly agitated.

"Because if he did I'd have killed him and harvested his bones by now." Spider replied to the sniper.

The giant came closer and kneeled down peering at the three, He wore a Viking style horned helmet and had a full blonde beard, large nostrils too, clearly a defining characteristic of his. When he spoke his voice boomed echoing across the jungle. "Hi! I'm Broggy, it's nice to meet you!"

"My name is Spider, these are my crew mates Nami and Usopp." She gestured to each respective member. "Is there something you wish to discuss?" Somehow Spider's voice rang out on par with the giant's showing she was by no means a regular human.

"As a matter of fact there is!" Broggy said with a big smile reminding Spider of her captain. "I wondered if you had any alcohol to spare."

Spider nodded, raising her hand she gestured to the riverside where a swirling portal of purple flames materialised bringing something into existence. When they'd vanished in it's place was a giant sized tankard filled with a frothy liquid.

The giant took the tankard and sipped at it's contents tentatively before laughing heartily and taking a huge gulp. "This is the best drink I've had in years! But how did you make it come out of no where like that!?" Broggy asked Spider then took another swig of the rapidly depleting drink.

"Magic, it makes things like that a simple matter." Spider told him. Suddenly she reached out and batted the giant to the side with a large ethereal claw like limb appearing out of thin air just as a dinosaur clamped down its jaws where Broggy was just stood. The magical appendage quickly grabbing the dinosaur's head in a vice like grip. Spider spared a look towards the giant to see if he was unharmed given how she'd swatted him aside, apart from the spilled beer he looked fine. Happy with the assessment she crushed the skull in the claw's grip causing blood to splatter everywhere around it.

The etheric claw vanished as quickly as it appeared leaving only a dead dinosaur in it's wake and a rather confused looking giant.

"My apologies." Spider said turning to Broggy. "I didn't have time to warn you so I moved you instead. I hope you don't mind"

Broggy stood and looked to Spider with a serious expression, his voice low. "No human I've seen is that strong even with a devil fruit."

She smiled at him. "I might look human but most who make that mistake die before realising the truth."

The two stared intensely for a good minute when the silence was broken by Broggy's booming laughter.  
"You can't be that bad if your kind enough to give a stranger free alcohol!"

This change elicited sighs of relief from the two very much human crew members. Both having been holding their breath during the intense minute that Spider and Broggy stared each other down.

"Well you're all free to come to my home and have dinner, if you don't mind me taking the dinosaur you killed!" Broggy offered

"We'd be delighted to have you host us, wouldn't we?" Spider turned to her companions.

Nami and Usopp were still a little fearful but nodded their heads if a little shakily. "Yeah, yeah of course."

Broggy laughed and turned to lead them away while they exited the ship, not before Spider left a not and placed several protective wards on it though.

"When will we get to visit an island without running into something terrifying?" Nami asked quietly not wanting to offend the new arrival.

"Never." Spider told the girl. "You're travelling with a monster after all."


	2. Bonding is Important

Looking around the giants home Spider appreciated the somewhat macabre use of a skeleton as a house, regardless of how it looked now she was under no illusions, this thing was a truly huge beast.  
"An excellent kill you made, I'm sure it saw you fed for a while." Spider called over to the giant sat beside her before depositing the ridiculously large chunks of dinosaur meat that were going spare in her inventory.

Broggy swallowed his food then responded. "It was a fine beast to feast on, only I had to do it quickly before it spoiled. I still only got through around three quarters of it."

Spider smiled. "I think I know someone who could eat it all in one sitting."

Broggy laughed heartily at the claim spilling some of the beer he had in his hand. "Surely you speak of another giant then, a human would burst if they tried such a feat."

"No he's human. Luffy ate a devil fruit that turned his body into rubber so he'd just stretch until he finished it." She informed the giant, continuing to pocket more dinosaur meat. _'It'll come in handy when there's another food shortage.'  
_ Looking over to her crew mates Spider saw that the previous apprehension that had clouded them was all but gone. "How are you two finding your meal?"

"It's actually pretty good." Usopp managed to say around a mouthful of food.

He was swiftly smacked over the head by the navigator. "Don't talk with your mouth full!"

Spider resolved to ignore them once the bickering started as she knew it would go nowhere until something exciting happened. "So how long have you been on the island?" She asked the giant.

"It's been... hmm lets see." Broggy thought for a long while. "It's been around a hundred years now that I think about it."

"Interesting, seems like a long time to spend on an island like this. What of the other member of your species?" She asked him.

"Oh you know Dory!? We've been duelling here and until one of us wins we cannot leave. Our god Elbaf will decide who is worthy of winning this duel, it is for that honour and glory that we have both dedicated our time and lives to fighting." Broggy finished causing the argument between Usopp and Nami to halt as the boy stared in awe at the giant.

"Seems pointless if the fight's taken this long. How many times have you ended in a draw?" Spider inquired.

"We have met on the battlefield 73,665 times and each one has ended with neither of us winning." Broggy told the Dovahkiin exactly as a volcano erupted loudly in the distance causing the giant to throw his meal into the fire and stand. "If you will all excuse me, it's time."  
Broggy rushed off into the jungle, or more accurately _over_ the jungle eager to meet his opponent.

"A hundred years over some silly duel, if I had that kind of time I wouldn't spend it on something so... stupid." Nami spoke to the group though only Spider seemed to be listening as Usopp had stood to get a better view of the epic clash.

"Perhaps not to you, but you have to respect that the world is filled with people that won't feel the same as you do. The best way to deal with it is to try to see what they value as something you do." Spider told her.

"I don't understand." Nami admitted.

"To them the duel is about honour more than whatever they originally disagreed over now. So to see why this is important you have to view honour as something you would value just as much." She clarified.

"So to them honour is like what money is to me?" Nami asked thinking this was what Spider was trying to communicate.

"Yes that's a close enough analogy." Spider replied as she watched the duel unfold.

"Even so to spend so long just fighting..."

"It's not something I can't relate to, personally I spent four hundred years trying to kill myself." Spider informed them, which got even Usopp to break away from Broggy's battle. Both stared wide eyed at the armour clad warrior that seemed so indomitable and even though they didn't voice it the question was clear as day in their eyes.  
"Everyone pays the price for standing up for what they believe in, mine was steeper than most."

Sensing this was all Spider was willing to say on the issue both crew members turned their solemn attention back to the duelling giants. It wasn't long before Usopp was once again enthralled in the combat.  
"Amazing, every strike is aimed to kill, even one slip up from either of them spells the end for them. Two proud warriors that battle for such pride is awesome to even watch." He said with such awe. "Someday, I want to be like them. A proud warrior of the sea."

"If you think they're good you should see me fight." Spider commented.

Usopp turned a sickly shade at the thought. "Nuh uh I've seen what you can do and it makes my stomach turn."

"You've only seen the aftermath, to watch me actually fight someone is another thing entirely." Spider informed the sniper.

"I'll take your word for it but I doubt even you could match these two when it comes to technique." He boasted despite having not seen her actually fight anyone.

A wicked smile struck Spider as she heard the words. "We'll just have to find out won't we." She told him causing a shiver to travel down the boy's spine. "Why don't you and me spar so we can find out just how far you have to go to reach their level?"

Usopp promptly fell back laughing nervously. "Well err, there's really no need right now since I'm... I'm not feeling well! I think I've come down with ICan'tSparOrI'llDie-ivitus hehe."

"Of course you have." Spider spoke flatly and resumed watching the fight that appeared to be coming to a close as the two giants reared back to punch each other. Both let out loud battle cries as they lunged forth, the resounding impact resonating over the entire island. They held that image of might until both finally fell backward indicating yet another draw.

"Will you two be alright if I leave you with Broggy? I wish to speak to the captain." Spider asked the two crew mates.

"We should be fine, at least I know he won't try to eat us now." Nami replied.

"And I'll get to ask him about his homeland and how to become a brave warrior like him!" came Usopp's lively response.

Spider stood and nodded her thanks to the two before looking to the direction she sensed the rest of her crew, then as if she were never there, vanished from sight with only a slight wind trailing behind her. She stopped upon reaching the second of the large skeletal homes and quickly found Luffy alongside Vivi sitting just outside. Making her way over she waved at the over excitable captain and rather calm princess of Alabasta.

"SPIDER!" Luffy yelled to her once he saw the form of the Dovahkiin approaching. "DID YOU SEE HOW AWESOME THAT WAS!?" He yelled with stars in his eyes.

Taking a seat beside the two Spider replied. "Yes, Usopp is rather impressed too."

At this Vivi did a 'hmph'. "I don't see how you can both support senseless fighting."

Spider sighed. _'Do I really have to go over this again?'_ She thought exasperated. _'No I don't care anymore.'_ "Did you figure out how long it would take for the log pose to reset? We didn't get that far when talking with Broggy before the duel started up again."

"Yup. One year." Luffy told her plainly.

"Hello there! I guess you found more friends while I was gone!" The giant talked to the group as he made his way over to them.

"Yeah she just arrived! Dory this is Spider, Spider this is Dory!" Luffy introduced the two.

"A pleasure, I see Broggy has shared the alcohol I gave him with you." Spider said noticing several barrels of alcohol in the giant's grasp.

His eyes went wide at her words. "SO YOU'RE THE MAGIC WIELDER!" Dory boomed.

"That's correct." She replied though wasn't sure why he was yelling so much at the realisation.

Dory sat across from the pirate crew with a loud thump before speaking again. "Would you be able to make me a tankard of beer that replenishes itself too?" He asked her.

"Yes, if that's what you wish. The least I can do since you've been keeping these two out of trouble." She responded while a greenish glow formed in a large area beside the giant, before long a huge tankard yet to be filled stood before them, though while everyone's attention was on the display almost everyone missed the appearance of another barrel beside the others Dory had brought with him. "It would be a waste of magic to transfer the alcohol when there's already some at hand." She explained.

"Fair enough." The giant spoke and began to fill the tankard himself.

"So tell me, is there nothing else that can be done other than waiting a year for the log pose to reset." Spider asked him.

"Well there's an eternal pose pointing to the village of Elbaf that me or Broggy will use once our duel is over, but unless you're to try and take it by force there's no other way to safely navigate the grand line from here." Dory replied.

"You speak as if you doubt I could actually take it." Spider challenged.

"Because I do." Dory halted his work to glare at the Dragonborn. "Just because you can create something doesn't mean you'd be able to beat me with it."

"Interesting opinion." She said as Dory was suddenly thrown back against his home with a resounding boom, the structure audibly cracking, and she hadn't even had to move. "A foolish one all things considered." Spider told him as she released the telekinetic spell holding Dory.

The giant stood, about to speak angrily when a smaller yet somewhat equally pissed voice beat him to it. "Spider, you better apologise or I'm giving going to have make you." Luffy told the woman sternly having stood up to do so.

Spider cocked her head to the right in slight irritation yet complied with the order. Looking up the giant, "My apologies, sometimes I let my temper take control, I hope you'll forgive me for my actions."

Dory sat back down mumbling a small 'No harm done' as he went back to pouring the barrels into the tankard he had put down earlier. It wasn't until there was one barrel left that Spider spoke again. "Not that one." She told him.

"Hmm, why not? It isn't even full yet." Dory asked confused.

"That wasn't there until after I created the tankard, pass it here." She told him and wearily Dory did so. Removing the lid She took a scan of the contents before looking off into the forest at the people who were spying on them. Slowly yet with purpose she conjured a goblet, dipped it into the liquid and swilled it around the cup for several seconds not taking her eyes off of the two. Finally she drank it's contents and for a moment nothing happened. A sudden boom echoed from with Spider and smoke seeped from the corner of her mouth only to be wiped away.  
"As I thought, someone wants to sabotage you." She said dispelling the goblet and turning away from the two who had by this point turned and fled, likely to think of a new plan.

"WHAT!" Dory exclaimed loudly, standing once again. "WHO WOULD DARE SULLY AN HONOURED DUEL!?" He yelled. His maddening gaze sweeping the jungle searching for a hidden opponent. "Unless this is some kind of trick..." He said slowly lowering his gaze to the three below him.

"Finish that sentence and it will be your last, **joor**." Spider warned harshly as she too stood. Turning away from the giant she walked towards the jungle where she sensed the presence of the two saboteurs. "If you really wish to fight I'm sure my captain will defend our honour well enough."

"Wait Spider where are you going!?" Vivi cried after her.

"To meet whoever tried to interfere with the duel. Make sure Luffy doesn't die will you." Was all she said as she disappeared into the dense foliage.

* * *

Easily enough Spider found a wax hut of sorts on the way towards the two lifeforms that had sabotaged the beer. Not sensing anyone inside she went in and found it fairly modest yet clearly decorated to suit a home office. To one side sat one of those snail devises that were used as telephones, honestly she'd seen some strange things but snails to be used this way was just weird. A ringing then came from the transponder and not wanting to miss out on whoever this was Spider answered.

"Hello."

"Who is this? Ms Golden Week why are you answering and not Mr 3?" The voice on the other end questioned irritably.

"Crocodile I assume." Came the calm response. A long silence stretched before she next spoke. "I can hear your heartbeat, I hope you enjoy it while it lasts."

"I take it you're the idiot that killed Mr 5 and maimed Ms Valentine. Even besting Ms All Sunday."

"The only idiot is you for continuing your fight against Vivi after realising she has an ally like me on her side."

"So you have a few strange powers, it's not as if your a god. I've killed pirates stronger than you just this morning."

Surprisingly Spider chuckled darkly. "You'll come to regret those words, I'll delight in carving my name on your flesh while you burn in the fires of oblivion. And I hope you don't have any loved ones because then I'd show you what a real monster is."

"... I'm sure."

"I'm feeling generous today, leave a message and I'll be sure to get it to your employees before I rip out their throats."

"They know the price of failure." The line went dead after those words and Spider found herself chuckling at the irony of it. To fail in their mission means Crocodile will kill them, but sending them against her is suicide. How unfortunate for them.

She soon left the wax hut casually chucking a fireball behind her, the blaze quickly burning the structure to ash then fizzling away as she severed the mana that was fuelling it. Spider headed back towards the giants' battlefield as she sensed that nearly everyone was gathered there, even the saboteurs oddly enough. The trek through the foliage was a easy as before and although she could get there immediately, it has always been a quirk of hers to let things play out for a little while before intervening as a way to alleviate her boredom.

Coming out of the jungle be Dory's house she found to her surprise that a screaming Luffy was trapped underneath it. Quickly advancing towards him she started to ask. "What happened?" then leaned against the structure while Luffy explained the brief fight he and Dory had, the beginning of the next duelling session then Dory's sudden misstep to Usopp and Vivi being kidnapped by a strange looking guy whose hair was shaped like the number 3 and a little girl that was eating some kind of cracker. Admittedly he spent a while describing the cracker.

"Alright, and you haven't gotten out of here because...?" Spider questioned.

"THIS THING WEIGHS LIKE A MILLION TONNES! I CAN'T LIFT THIS!" He cried at her. "You gotta find a way to get me out so I can help the rest of the crew! Come on Spider you're my only hope now." He pleaded with her.

Spider kneeled down beside him. "You can just order me to get you out. You are my captain after all." She told him. Spider then gently raised her hand to the giant skeleton and quickly flicked it, there was no noise yet the entire thing crumbled into tiny pieces falling to the ground almost like a powder allowing Luffy to get up with the huge weight now off of him.

"You can really do some awesome stuff, surprised you don't dream about being pirate king." He said to her.

"Being King of the Pirates doesn't appeal to me as it does to you, I've accomplished a lot in my life, I've been an empress, master of many different guilds, a hero of legend and to some a villain. Right now my only dream is to see that others who deserve it can fulfil there's." She told the young captain.

"That's why you wanted to be the protector of the crew rather than the doctor?" He asked.

"Exactly, I have a feeling you'll see someone else you want to fill that role very soon. But for now I better see about my own, Vivi's glyph is spiking telling me she's in serious trouble." She informed the young captain while setting off towards the others.

"Come on we gotta hurry!" Luffy yelled as he raced past her and into the jungle.

"Don't worry captain. All who stood in my way are long dead, and all who stand in yours shall meet the same fate so long as I'm by your side." Spider practically whispered to herself as she pulled out her daedric helm and fitted into place.

Even as she exited the thick undergrowth Spider couldn't quite believe what she was seeing both the giants were down and smothered in wax though Dory's life force was worryingly weak, Zoro, Usopp, Nami, Vivi and Sanji were trapped on the bottom tier of a very large wax cake type... thing. It had a giant half jack o'lantern spinning slowly at the top while candles slowly melted the wax down on her crew mates.  
 _'This has got to be in the top five most elaborate death traps I've ever seen.'_ Spider thought to herself vaguely impressed with the scale but disappointed that it was just such an eye sore. Then she registered Luffy stood in front of it just watching the entire thing take place.

"How in oblivion did he get _all_ of you onto that monstrosity?!" She exclaimed loud enough for the two villains to hear. They were stood a few meters to the right of her captain in the clearing, exactly as he'd described them, the guy with weird hair and the strange girl.

"YOU WOULD DARE CALL MY ART MONSTEROUS!" Mr 3 cried out. "Clearly you are as uncultured as your ghoulish armour suggests." He said while readying a wax attack, taking aim at the advancing woman.

"On the contrary, the armour shows you what I am." Spider informed the 'artist'.

Rather than responding he threw a wave of liquid wax at Spider covering her completely before hardening it trapping the Dovahkiin inside causing her crew to call out after her.

"No!"

"Spider!"

"Damn it."

"Well I guess that's it, we're doomed."

The wax cracked and broke apart once Usopp finished his sentence revealing a perfectly fine Spider. "A demon about to tear you limb from bloody limb." Spider told the now panicking Mr 3 who continued throwing wax at the approaching warrior hoping to at least slow her down. As his concentration focused on her the death trap stopped spinning and the flames were extinguished saving the crew for the moment.

More and more wax was chucked at her yet it all burned to ash on contact with an invisible barrier once it got close enough to connect. "How is this possible, Ms Golden Week do something!" He screamed at the girl.

"Right." She said and dipped her brush into the black paint and splashed it at Spider after she was within 10ft of them both. Predictably it burned on impact with the barrier Spider had put up and now it looked like she was going to reach them. Until Mr 3 turned to the 'art' and connected his wax to it.

"Stop! Any closer and I'll smother them in wax, you'll never be able to save them if you attack." He told her, desperation clear as day in his voice.

Following the command She stopped several feet from the two, not wanting to risk her crew. "What now? you move I'll kill you, I move you'll kill them." _'I'll rip your head off before you even have time to blink but let's see how this goes.'_ She thought.

"Ms Golden Week, it's time we made our escape." Mr 3 told the child.

She nodded in understanding and looked to where Luffy stood stock still and splashed him in paint. "Attack her." She ordered pointing to Spider.  
This was when both she and Mr 3 booked it into the jungle towards their now destroyed wax hut.

Spider was confused as to why they thought she'd just let them go when she heard Luffy yell 'gum gum pistol' and his fist came rocketing towards her. The rest of the crew were shouting at her to dodge but she allowed the attack to make contact _'It hurts him more than it bothers me anyway.'_ She communicated to the crew in their minds, much easier than yelling over to them.

"That girl has a weird power with those paints he doesn't want to fight you! Try not to hurt him!" Nami yelled at her.

"Fine." Spider said to herself as she raised an arm to block Luffy's leg from connecting against her shoulder where the especially shark spikes were. Another punch flew straight at her head only to be grabbed inches from it's target, wasting no time Spider yanked the boy over to her knocking him off balance as he unexpectedly closed in on her. Once in range she released his wrist and thrust forward her hand closing around his throat. He clawed at it but to no avail as he couldn't even touch the floor.

A feint red glow emanated from the usually empty eye sockets in the daedric helm. Spider looked straight at him and spoke the ancient words **"GOL HAH DOV!"** Golden light pushed itself from Spider through Luffy and past him, deep into the jungle.

Releasing Luffy he fell to his hands and knees. Ignoring him for now Spider went over to the others and in a similar move that she used on Dory's home destroyed the hideous wax structure causing them to fall, only Zoro and Sanji actually sticking the landing, everyone else landing in a heap. "Everyone should get back to the ship, we're leaving." She told them while breaking the restraints keeping Broggy pinned down. Only then moving on to healing Dory who soon regained consciousness when his wounds closed up. As the two giants rose and embraced each other Spider interrupted. "You two need to stop this duel too. After the thousandth draw it's clear your 'god' likes both of you equally so you must both have been correct in your argument, seventy thousand is just over kill."

Not even waiting for the response she returned to Luffy and helped him to his feet. "Will you be alright captain?" She asked him.

"Ugh... head's... fuzzy..." He replied groggily.

Nodding Spider responded by picking him up, resolving to carry him back to the ship rather than having him limp along behind them. She'd begun walking when the rest of the crew followed after a brief goodbye to the giants. "Aren't you forgetting something? The log pose hasn't reset and we have no way of navigating to Alabasta." Nami voiced on the way.

"I'm not waiting a year for a damn needle." Spider told the navigator. "Hold out the log pose." Once she did so a greenish glow enveloped the devise causing it to spin rapidly until it settled on a direction. "Chronos magic, speeds up or slows time." Spider informed them before any questions could be asked.

"Full of surprises aren't you my love." Sanji stated walking alongside her.

"That reminds me, did you two manage to get enough food for the journey?" Spider asked as they continued along.

"Not sure about swirly brow over there but I managed to bring a few dinosaurs next to the ship. besides that, what did you do to Luffy?" Zoro asked taking up position on her left.

"I used the bend will shout to snap him out of whatever daze that girl put him in. It's strange that he's so resistant to the effects, rather than becoming a thrall he fought it off." She replied.

"Speaking of those two, what are we going to do about them? It's not as if they'll just give up on trying to kill us." Vivi asked the group.

"I doubt they'll be an issue, I had a little chat with Crocodile on one of those snail transponders and apparently he doesn't take failure from his employees very well. If they're smart then they will run very far away from both us and him." She informed them.

"Wait you spoke to him?"

"Yes, when I went looking for those two the first time I happened across their field office. He didn't show it but he was awfully unsettled by what I said. And before you ask, in the interest of you all being able to look me in the eye for the next few days I won't reveal what I told him I'd do once I found him." Spider told them as the ship came into view along with a few large dinosaur corpses. "When we get to the ship I'll put the captain to bed and handle his condition, can the rest of you take care of cast off preparations and deal with loading the dinosaur meat?"

"Sure." Nami responded.

"Yeah, no problem." Zoro complied.

"Hey! Why is it when Spider gives an order you don't flip out?" Nami asked slightly offended.

"Because when she does it there's a good reason." Zoro defended.

"Wrong." Spider interjected causing everyone to turn to her slightly surprised. "You comply because there's a part of you that feels compelled to do so. Side effect of my draconic soul seeping out around me, it wants to subjugate you all but I have enough self control to rein it in, I can't however stop the compulsion to obey what I command however slight it is."

"So the longer we're around you the less free will we'll have." Zoro sounded resentful of the fact.

"Only if you remain as you are, I can keep it to a minimal but so long as you all grow stronger I can't see it becoming a problem." She told him. "Which brings me to the topic of training, earlier I toyed with Usopp about sparring with him but the more I think of it the better it sounds. Honestly as you are you're all weak, I hope to change that."

"Not going to happen, unless it's against Luffy or the Marimo here I can't spar with anyone." Sanji told her.

"Hey I'm right here you know." Usopp interrupted.

"Yeah because _you're_ going to fight Sanji." Nami taunted.

Ignoring the inevitable bickering that would break out between the two Spider asked the obvious. "And why exactly can't you spar with me?"

"Zeff taught me to never hit a woman, even threatened to remove his own head if I did because it would be better than living with the shame of knowing he raised a deadbeat that would do such a thing." Sanji relayed to her.

"Forgive me but I don't believe Zeff qualifies as a woman so his opinion on the matter is void." Spider told him. "On the battlefield there's no such thing as gender, only you and your opponent where skill is the only thing that matters, refusing to spar with me because I'm a woman is the same as saying that in your eyes I'm less than a man and therefore not worthy simply because of a fifty/fifty chance at birth."

"But... that's not what I..." Sanji stumbled and searched for an answer but for the life of him couldn't come up with one.

"If I get the captain's permission whether you like it or not we're sparring and if I have to I'll beat that sexist mindset out of you." She warned the flustered chef. This made him fumble even more over his words and Zoro to start chuckling at his situation, personally he was looking forward to fighting Spider, finally seeing someone apparently even stronger than Mihawke in action against him.

When they finally reached the ship loud foot falls alerted them to the two giants that had quickly caught up to them in only a short walk. Both looking better than when the crew first saw them. It seemed as if they'd taken Spider's advice through their comfortable demeanour with each other being more peaceful that before.

"Friends! We'd like to send you off properly but you have to keep sailing straight, no matter what!" The giant Dory told them.

"And don't worry about a thing, we'll protect you on your way out." Broggy assured them.

"If you're talking about the giant fish save your breath. I'll take care of it." Spider ordered them rather rudely as she boarded the ship with Luffy. Gently setting him aside she helped everyone get ready to set sail. Once they were proper goodbye's were said to the giants by the crew bar Spider and Luffy.

Spider left Luffy off to the side as she went to the front of the ship soon joined by Nami who looked a little... off though not seriously so. The navigator had a questioning look about her and held it until Spider asked her what was the matter.

"Were you being serious about a giant fish? I don't want to get eaten after almost being killed today." Nami confessed as they sailed out towards the next island.

"There is a large life form about eighty meters ahead of us, since it's underwater I assume it's a fish but I guess I could be wrong." Spider told her but the only response she got was a slowly sinking expression from Nami. "You have nothing to worry about **ahkrin** , you should know that by now."

"What's an ahkrin? Did you just give me a nickname?" Nami asked half distracted from the news of a monster coming for them.

"It means courage, and yes I think I just did." Spider returned with a smile. "Now you had better move back with the others." She told Nami who did as she was told joining the rest of the crew a bit behind Spider as they were all curious to see the giant fish that had been spoken of. Almost as if on cue it rose out of the water breaking the surface dramatically causing someone who shall not be named *cough*Usopp *cough* to jump out of his skin. The thing looked like a huge gold fish, the gigantic mouth opening wide ready to swallow the ship whole, it's presence covering them in shadow.

Spider stood defiantly before the freak of nature readying herself for her most devastating shout. _**"DINOK LIIV UNSLAAD!"**_ (Death Decay Eternal) Spider unleashed the shear power of her soul projecting it onto the creature threatening to eat them. The moment the word left her lips everyone could feel a chilling aura emanate from her for a brief second though their attention quickly turned to the monster fish suddenly rolling upside down, giant eyes milky white as it turned. Soon the flesh decayed at a phenomenal rate quickly stripped to nothing but bone it sank below the waves.

Turning back Spider and passed the crew who were open mouthed in shock at what she'd done, and picked up Luffy from where she'd left him.

* * *

Luffy lay down in Spider's bed since she'd refused to put him in a hammock saying it was unbefitting of a captain. Placing a hand on his forehead she sent golden waves of healing magic into him ridding his mind of the effects of the bend will shout. Since getting on the ship she'd removed her armour magically storing it for later and now wore what the crew had dubbed her 'casual' clothes.  
"Even though I held back no one has ever resisted the full shout before... you might just be even more special than I thought." Spider said to herself.

"Really, you think I'm special! Aw I knew you liked me!" Luffy teased excitedly as he rose sitting up from his prone position laughing.

Removing her hand Spider replied. "I thought you knew that already, your recovery speed is also impressive, I hardly have to use half the energy I do healing someone else."

"Yeah I've always been a fast healer, probably from when my grandpa used to throw me in the jungle when I was little and I'd have to survive on my own." Luffy shared with her a little of his past.

Spider took several moments to stare at the boy who smiled up at her not knowing the concern she was feeling. She eventually sat down at the edge of the bed looking... off. "Captain..."

"Yeah, what's wrong? Come on you can trust me." He tried.

"I know you don't look too deeply into the past but... would you allow me to see yours? I'd like to understand why you've chosen this path." She admitted.

"Why would you want to know that?"

"Because I'm committed to seeing each of you accomplish your dreams, but I'd like to know what drives you, and what to protect you from should anything come back from the past. If it's too intrusive I understand and won't push further-" Spider was cut off when Luffy's hand clasped her arm.

"It's okay, if it's what you want then I want it too." He smiled

She smiled back at him. Gently probing his consciousness she made her presence known and allowed him to guide her through his early life, she saw his memories of Shanks and his crew, their inspiring Luffy to take up the pirate life, moving on to his grandfather Garp taking him to live with Dadan and her mountain bandit family. She saw how Luffy forged bonds with Ace and Sabo, though to begin with Spider growled at their initial behaviour towards her captain finding them to be less than courteous. Even so she respected that eventually they grew to love each other even with the rocky start and literal torture Luffy suffered protecting their secret despite having no reason to given their treatment of him.

_'You continue to surprise me, even so young you were resilient and fearless. fiercely loyal to a fault too.'_

Instead of a reply Spider felt him smile and continue to show her his childhood. The training, infrequent visits from Garp, the sharing of sake making the three boys brothers and eventually the separation from Sabo to receiving news of his death. The pain was one she was intimately familiar with. Years passed and Ace went on a journey of his own eventually becoming a division commander of the Whitebeard pirates. That just left Luffy's last years training himself further and setting off to become a pirate, a few weeks later he met her.

Severing the connection Spider looked at Luffy from a completely new perspective. He really was genuinely just the way he was. In spite of the hurt of his past and less than desired parenting, he was a good soul. "Thank you, Luffy."

This caused him to smile and even chuckle a little. "I think that's the first time you've used my name, usually you just call me captain."

"Don't get used to it, I'll likely only call you by your name in private. Still, I didn't think you'd know quite so many powerful players in this game." Spider commented.

"What do you mean?" He asked innocently.

"Your brother is a high ranking officer in an Emperor's crew, and your grandfather, however much I disagree with his parenting methods, is a powerful marine hero." She clarified for him.

"You think gramps should've raised me differently?" He questioned.

"No, I think if he wanted you to be a marine he should have actually been the one to raise you rather than having mountain bandits do it, though I'll admit they did a good job with you all. Even so when he did visit, as a parent I cringe at his methods. Promise me that in the unlikely event you have children, let Nami be the one to help raise them." She all but begged.

"Hey! I kind of understand your problem with gramps but what about the rest of the crew? And what do you mean 'unlikely event' that I'll have kids, I could one day." Luffy said a little defensive.

"I don't mean to offend but, Luffy you can be an idiot and you don't look the type to have any romantic interest even if it was literally thrown at you. And as for the rest of the crew, Zoro would train them to death, Sanji would get distracted by a pretty girl and lose them." _'Or_ worse.' She thought before continuing. "And Usopp would fill their heads with lies making the poor things delusional. Nami however is the best shot those kids have at learning common sense right now."

"Hmm." Luffy crossed his arms in thought closing his eyes before nodding his head a few times. "Makes sense I guess. before we head back out is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"Yes actually. I want to start sparring sessions with the crew to improve your combat ability, I've been spending so much time planning that I haven't thought about if you'd all be strong enough to accomplish the mission." Spider told him. "I wished to get your permission first."

"Sounds like a good idea, what brought this on?"

"Believe it or not it was Usopp, then when you were under the control of that girl I watched you fight and thought that you had a long way to go before you could take on someone with real combat experience." She revealed.

"Was I really that bad? Man I thought I was pretty good at fighting." He said with a pout.

"Against a regular opponent I have no doubt you would win, but I don't think this Crocodile will be anything close to regular, when you go against him I want to be sure you'll crush his smug attitude into dust." She told the young captain.

"You're right he will be tough since he's a warlord and all... when can we start?" He asked determination in his voice.

"As soon as you give the order I can have everyone begin training in the time we have spare, Nami might have to be exempt every now and then since she'll be navigating us between islands however." Spider informed him.

"That's fine." He said jumping off the bed. "Let's go tell everyone!" Man they're gonna be so excited!" Luffy exclaimed rushing out of the female quarters. Leaving his crew mate in the figurative dust.

She just shook her head knowing precisely two people will be happy about this, Luffy and Zoro. Sanji is going to be in constant anxiety about fighting a woman, Nami will need time to find a weapon to train with, Usopp will pretend to be sick out of fear and Vivi likely won't take part being a pacifist.  
"This is going to be interesting."

* * *

Three days passed since training had started and not everyone was thrilled with what they were actually doing. On the first day Spider had opted to make use of one on one training sessions rather than group based activities in order to get a feel for the skill level on the first day and decided that while Luffy, Sanji and Zoro had the aptitude to land powerful blows and in some cases out manoeuvre an enemy, they lacked the knowledge required to effectively take them down. Usopp was the opposite, he needs to get stronger equipment but other than that he's an excellent sniper capable of hitting vital shots when he tried. To remedy this Spider gave him a multitude of materials and tools to create better weapons for himself and Nami so that she could actually participate.  
Now she was dealing with her only three students.

"I don't see why you want me to work on my aim, so long as I hit them it should be fine." Her captain pouted at the regime Spider presented for him.

"When you made to kick me back on Little Garden I had to stop your attack before you pierced yourself on my armour's spikes. Besides depending on where you hit someone can make all the difference." She lightly scolded him.

"Are we going to start this or not?" Zoro asked impatiently.

"Fine. You're up first, I'll react as a normal opponent would to any hit you make but I'm not going easy on you in turn." She warned the cocky swordsman.

"Fine by me." Zoro responded as he placed his white hilted katana in his mouth and drew the other two, getting into a combat ready position.

Spider was still in her casual clothes as she didn't want to accidently harm anyone that struck the daedric metal of her armour. She however opted to remain in her usual combat form, stood still, uncaring of the hostile intent aimed at her, like a king addressing his court leaving her effectively open to attack on all sides.  
Zoro lunged forth and swung all his katanas in an arc aiming for her chest. Spider leaned back slightly to avoid the first blade waiting for it to pass, in the brief second she had Spider took a step forward in between the blades and aimed a jab at Zoro's throat landing a solid blow causing him to tumble to the floor and drop one of his blades.

"One hit and I have to at a disadvantage. Learn to dodge and predict the flow of combat, you're not indestructible like I am." She told him as he gathered himself rubbing the sore spot she'd struck.

"Sanji you're next." Spider informed the chef.

"I still don't think I can do this." He confessed uneasily.

"I'm already ignoring the fact you refuse to use your hands severely reducing your versatility, don't make me repeat myself when it comes to your gender issues." Spider growled out.

This time she opted for as Sanji charged in for the attack leaping into the air and aiming a solid kick to her head Spider remained perfectly still, looking him right in the eyes as the distance closed between them. A split second before it would make contact the blow changed direction and sailed harmlessly over head.  
Sanji landed and looked back at his opponent clearly still conflicted. "I'm sorry I just can't bring myself to do it."

Spider sighed. "I was afraid of that." Raising a hand purple fire engulfed her palm until she released the spell causing three draemora lords to appear on the ship in front of her two male and one female, they were dressed in robes rather than armour and only held wooden weapons. "They will be your opponents, Sanji you need to work on being able to hit a female combatant, Zoro try not to get hit, I need you to block and dodge as if your life depends on it because one day it will. Luffy work on your aim and speed." Spider ordered and rather than giving them time to argue the draemora lords immediately set upon their respective opponents catching them of guard while Spider walked away to check on Nami and Usopp's progress.

They were working in the female quarters so that they weren't disturbed too much by the training going on outside. Usopp had constructed a staff of some kind and appeared to be making the finishing touches before handing it to Nami, though she herself looked a little worse for wear. "Nami, what's wrong? You don't seem well." Spider inquired.

"Hmm? I'm fine just a little drowsy that's... that's all. Are we still on course?" She deflected.

"You're sick. We'll get you to a doctor on the next island, according to Vivi it's a small kingdom renowned for it's medical advancements." Spider told her.

"No we can't stop too long just for me we have to get to Alabasta as soon as..." As she made to stand Nami fell back only to be caught by Usopp before she could hit the floor. "...possible."

"You're improving." Spider flashed a smile to Usopp though it didn't make him feel any better about Nami.

"What are we going to do? She's burning up!" He panicked and almost dropped the girl.

"Perhaps not as much as I'd hoped." Spider chided before ordering Nami to be placed on the bed to which Usopp complied. "This isn't good." She said raising her hand and supressing the symptoms with her restoration magic. "I can give her time but something's blocking me from removing the disease."

"You mean there's someone cursing Nami that's stronger than you?" Usopp hurriedly asked with a scared pitch in his voice.

"No. I can push past the block but it's who put it there that worries me. Sheogorath wouldn't interfere unless this needed to happen. Nami getting sick must lead to something important that wouldn't happen if I healed her." Spider informed the boy.

"Sheogor-who? Is that one of the demon gods you told us about?" Usopp asked confused.

"Yes, more accurately he's the one I made a deal with to travel these worlds, he gets entertainment and I don't go insane." She replied.

"Right... but Nami's going to be okay right?"

"She'll survive, I swear it." Spider promised the Straw Hat sniper. Though as the words left her lips a loud crash exploded from outside followed by an abundance of yelling. "Protect Nami, I'll be right back." Spider ordered as she made for the exit. Opening the door she was greeted by Vivi rushing in. "Stay inside until we give the all clear." Spider told her as she let the girl pass. On deck Luffy, Zoro and Sanji along with the draemora fighting a group of invading pirates. They appeared to have come from a large submarine vessel that had surfaced beside the Going Merry, though the real issue Spider faced was a large purple haired man with what appeared to be a metal jaw chewing his way through the railing of the Merry. Immediately she set across the deck to deal with the idiot.

Seeing their king in danger more pirates jumped from the enemy vessel landing in front of Spider already taking swings upon landing. In response She pulled a daedric dagger from seemingly nowhere parrying each blow as they came. The next swing was sidestepped, Spider quickly stabbed the blade into the man's extended arm before twisting the dagger effectively severing his arm leaving it attached by two strings of flesh. Yanking the dagger back she sliced at the pirates throat causing a torrent of blood to gush from the open wound.  
Using the surprise of the other pirates to her advantage she instantly closed in, kicking at the knee of the closest with enough force to snap it back at an awkward angle he soon fell forward onto her waiting blade that pierced his heart, ending his pain. The last pirate next to him took this as an opportunity to attack now that her blade was stuck in his ally's body, he charged in wildly screaming yet was stopped as Spider raised her arm and caught his face in her hand halting his progress. He had only a moment to process how strong she could be to have stopped him with one hand when a column of flame engulfed his head turning it to a blackened husk before she threw it aside towards the centre of the ship.

Spider looked around for a moment and it appeared that everyone had stopped fighting just to watch the display. "How long?" She asked.

"About when you opened up the first guy." Sanji told her.

"I'm not apologising." She eventually responded. Looking between the fat purple haired man and Luffy Spider spoke again. "May I, captain?" She received a quick nod in return, at this she allowed herself a evil smile. "I assume you ate a devil fruit since you were devouring part of our ship."

"And you'll find out the power of the Munch-Munch fruit when I eat you too for daring to defy a king!" He yelled but was still backed up against the portion of the Merry's railing he hadn't eaten clearly not willing to attack after what happened to his subjects.

Spider wasn't deterred in the slightest and came closer. "Funny, the only king I see just gave the order to kill you."

Panic reached his features and he started breathing heavily. "STOP HER YOU FOOLS! SAVE ME!"

When the first made a move Spider growled harsh and inhuman stopping them in their tracks. Now having reached the 'king' Spider grabbed him by his shirt raising him from the ground. "You can swim right?" Sudden realisation entered his eyes as he was tossed over the side and began sinking like a stone. "If you want to save him I suggest you make haste. Her words sent the enemy pirates into a flurry as they hurriedly either dived after their king or retreated to their vessel.

Once everything was cleared and the ship was a fair distance from them Spider dumped the corpses overboard and cleared the blood with a sweep of cleansing magic over the ship even repairing the railing that had been destroyed.

"Cool you can even repair the ship." Luffy Marvelled.

"To an extent, running too many repairs with this magic will end in the ship disintegrating from the stress." Spider warned him.

"Oh, so we can't keep repairing the Merry using magic got it." He replied understanding.

"Still, you should all get back to training, Nami's come down with an illness but we'll get her a doctor on the next island, after that it's straight to Alabasta. Sound good captain?" She asked.

"Will Nami-swan be okay?" Sanji asked panicked. Even Luffy looked concerned.

"Yes like I said we'll get her a doctor and I can keep her symptoms in check, but only if I know you guys are trying to improve yourselves so that I won't have to worry about you too."

"Sounds good then, just make sure Nami get's better." Luffy ordered.

Spider nodded and returned to the female's quarters giving the all clear to be allowed back in and beginning to help Usopp improve his weapons while keeping Nami's condition stable until they arrived at the next island.

* * *

Drum kingdom, the cold climate on the way to the snow covered island caused the crew to dress warmer, they were just heading into a small inlet. Truly it looked welcoming enough, the snowy environment reminding Spider of Skyrim and the harshness it harboured though the miniature waterfall was a pretty sight on entering.

Zoro and Vivi were at the front of the ship when the discussion of who should go search the island for people and who should guard the ship came up. there was a collection of answers from the usual suspects. Luffy of course wanting to explore, Sanji too as he wanted to find a cure for Nami, and a 'go have fun' from Usopp.

It was at that moment a sudden voice yelled out to them. "THAT'S FAR ENOUGH PIRATES!" Everyone soon realised that people had surrounded the ship on both sides of the inlet and ahead of them. All of them armed with weapons aimed at them. Spider quickly went to Luffy's side as her first priority was to look as intimidating as possible. Pained her to admit but Luffy in a fluffy coat just added to her fear factor as she'd not bothered with a coat instead opting for her daedric armour.

"People!" Luffy exclaimed. "Well that was easy."

"Yeah nice, but they don't seem too friendly." Usopp commented.

A man in a thick green and white coat with matching hat stepped forward from the centre of the crowd. "I'll only say this once! Your kind is not welcome here, leave immediately!" He ordered.

Luffy was the first to speak up. "We only came here to find a doctor!"

"We have someone who's sick!" Vivi added.

A random soldier from the right side shouted to them. "You'll have to do better than that! We won't fall for that old trick!"

"This is our island, we won't let any filthy pirates land here!" Cried another.

Spider quickly grew agitated and spoke so that only the crew could hear. "Another foul mouthed **joor** speaks to us that way and I'll rip their lungs out _through_ their mouth"

"Spider don't say that, we've only just arrived and they already hate us, wouldn't be smart to give them a real reason to." Sanji told her.

 _'Speaking his mind to me rather than just agreeing. I call that progress.'_ Spider thought with a smile however it was cut short as one of the crowed yelled to them to 'get out' and fired off a shot heading right for Sanji's head. Moving at inhuman speeds Spider's hand blocked the bullet stopping it only centimetres away from the man's skull.

Luffy's eyes went wiled as he realised he'd almost lost one his crew. "WHY YOU!" He cried rushing to the portside ready to leap into the fray. He was stopped when Vivi suddenly threw herself into him.

"LUFFY STOP!" Fighting isn't going to help anything!" She pleaded with him before getting down on her hands and knees in front of the apparent leader of the soldiers.  
"It's alright we won't land but can you please call us a doctor, our friend has a grave illness, I beg you!"

Spider was soon at Luffy's side ready to help him should he need it as the guns were aimed at him. Vivi spoke up again. "You are not fit to be the captain of this ship Luffy. Not everything can be fixed by rushing in to start a fight." Luffy looked down at her saying nothing, no anger in the way he stared just, blank. "We can't pick a fight here, think about what will happen to Nami."

Luffy looked from Vivi to the leader. "Yeah right I-" In the middle of his sentence he was about to fall to his knees but was caught by Spider holding him up by his shoulder.

"Don't you dare." She told him coldly as she stared down at Vivi. The girl looked up in shock 'what are you doing?' written plain across her face. Ignoring her Spider turned to face Luffy. "A king does not kneel." She said the words as if they were the only thing that mattered in the whole world, the true weight behind them falling around her.

Luffy gained a new look about him, one of determination as he stood, arms crossed defiantly.

 **"ZUN HAAL VIIK!"** Came Spider's powerful thuum rending the weapons from all who wielded them against the crew, a few fingers even being dislocated from the force.

"My friend's life is at stake so I won't ask again. Where can we find a doctor." Luffy demanded of the now quite scared soldiers.

The leader looked around uncertainly before sighing in defeat. "Don't harm any of us and I'll personally show you to a doctor, you have my word."

Vivi was on her feet immediately. " That was completely unnecessary! We could have gotten them to trust us but now they never will!" She practically screamed.

Spider swiftly stepped up the princess. "You expect me to listen to a naïve and whiny brat that hasn't the first clue of how the real world works? It will be my pleasure to inform you that showing weakness in the face of danger gets people killed, hoping for the good in people to shine through in a bad situation gets those you care for killed, fighting a war without wanting to hurt anyone gets your soldiers killed. Like it or not fear and evil shall forever remain constants in the world, the sooner you accept that the sooner you can let go of the foolish desire to see no one get hurt. You don't see us lecture you on how to be a princess so don't presume to tell us how to act like pirates." Spider's impromptu speech left the girl in stunned silence even as she turned to Luffy asking him to retrieve Nami.

Spider quickly went ashore and strode right towards the leader of the band of soldiers. Trepidation easily noticeable to a warrior of her experience though she put it aside, removing her helmet she held out her arm for him. "Spider Alicia PoisonBlood of the Straw Hat Pirates."

After a few seconds of hesitation he reached out and shook her hand. "Dalton."

"I apologise for the show of force however I hope you can appreciate the feeling of wanting to save a friend,I'll go to any length to ensure their safety." Spider shared her reasons with the man.

He nodded. "I understand, provided you can do the same about why we treated you the way we did and not hold it against us." He asked gruffly.

"Dalton, my captain is perhaps the nicest boy you'll ever hope to meet, the only reason he acted violently is because if it weren't for me then that man." Spider nodded to the person who's taken the first shot. "Would have killed one of his crew, and to Luffy his crew is his family." Dalton took some time to process the information. "However I'm sure once he finds the problem you people have he'll be the first to volunteer to fix it." She assured as the crew gathered around.

Dalton set the pace as he led them to what Spider assumed to be the nearest town, she was next to him, Vivi a little to the side behind her, Sanji, Usopp and Luffy walked side by side a few feet further back with Nami being carried by an insistent Sanji. That left Zoro and the duck were left to guard the ship. Needless to say they were surrounded by the soldiers who now gripped their weapons a little tighter after recovering them.

"What makes you think we have a problem?" He asked her though his expression remained stoic.

"Always is wherever we go, better to accept it." She told him while dutifully ignoring the fact Vivi was glaring daggers at her.

"Fair enough, but first I have to warn you, the only doctor we have on this island is a witch."

"Do you mean that in a figurative or literal sense?" Spider inquired.

"Both, Dr Kureha is 139 years old and charges whatever she wants since she's the only doctor. That could be some clothes, an animal or more likely your best alcohol." Dalton informed Spider.

"Interesting, I wonder what she'll charge us... one moment." Spider quickly searched her inventory sifting through the weapons department until she eventually found a well crafted volcanic glass dagger with intricately carved runes causing it to glow a ghostly blue. "This should be good enough."

"What is that?" Dalton asked.

"Can I have it!?" Luffy yelled as he rushed up beside them, his eyes wide at the shiny object.

"You already have a daedric one right there." She gestured the weapon hanging at his side though he never actually used the thing so she suspected he only had it to make him look cool. "Besides this is what we're going to pay the doctor with."

"Aw come on can't we just give her money?" He whined.

"Nami would rather bite the big one than spend a berry on her medical fees." Usopp chuckled from behind them.

"He's... not wrong." Nami responded weakly from Sanji's back.

Spider smiled, it's good she still had the spirit to talk. Turning to Dalton she answered his question while handing over the blade. "It's a weapon made out of volcanic glass, I enchanted it myself with frost magic."

"Magic hmm, is that what you used to disarm us before." He questioned while examining the blade.

"No that was something much stronger." She told him ominously.

Dalton said nothing only handing her the blade back, though instead of keeping it Spider dropped back and placed it in Sanji's coat pocket.

"Why are you giving it to me?" He asked.

"Because you're going to see the doctor with Nami, it's not like we could persuade you to leave her side right now so you might as well be the one to pay the woman." She explained.

"Why can't you give it to her?"

Instead of answering she looked to Dalton. "How many people in town are sick but are too scared to pay whatever price Kureha will charge?"

"several come to mind but I don't doubt there will be more." He answered.

"And that's where I'll be." She told Sanji.

"If you can heal them why can't you do the same for your friend." Dalton asked suspiciously.

"Her disease isn't something I'm familiar with, my magic can keep the affects down but not cure it, I'm hoping that Dr Kureha will have the answer." She told him, really it was unfortunate she couldn't heal Nami without breaking a plot point but meh, she'll live.

Eventually they reached the small town, Dalton turned and spoke to his men. "Alright we're here, if you're not a guard you can go back to work."

"Are you sure you should be alone with them Dalton? They are pirates after all." One of them said.

"Believe me if I wanted you dead I'd have hung your corpse on the trees by your entrails like a demented Christmas decoration **joor**." Spider growled at the man, her eyes briefly flashing brightly into draconic slits.

Everyone of them backed off a few paces with evident fear in their movement. "Calm down." Dalton told them. "Despite her words a I don't think they mean us any harm, and she did just offer to heal our sick so we'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now."

The townsfolk grumbled but soon went their separate ways as Dalton led the Straw Hat's to his home. While inside he explained that the only way to get to Dr Kureha was to either go to the castle on the tallest mountain or wait for her to come to them, The idea of Spider teleporting Nami up there was suggested only for Spider to shoot it down by explaining the strain it would put on Nami. Immediately Luffy volunteered to carry Nami up the mountain which was met by resistance until Nami gave the go ahead. Now after having wished both them and Sanji good luck, Spider, Vivi and Usopp were left behind in the village so as not to slow them down.

Spider quickly set to work conjuring a stall with the symbol depicting a staff that had a snake coiled around it, this was placed on the back and side walls. It was little more than a tent but it was roomy and had two chairs inside along with a bed for those that had to lie down. Soon enough a line had formed with people who were injured after Dalton had helped clarify what it was she was doing. And that was how Spider spent the next three hours of her time since word quickly spread she was heling people for free, nearby settlement sent their sick to her as well.

* * *

Having finished with the last of her patients Spider collapsed the stall allowing it to dissolve in purplish flames until there was no evidence of it ever existing in the first place. Scanning the area she spotted Usopp, Vivi and Dalton talking to each other looking rather serious.

"Sorry for the interruption." Spider spoke as she approached. "But I thought it best I inform you that I'm going to check on Nami and the others."

"You're going to go alone?" Dalton asked.

Spider smiled and pulled out her daedric helm placing it on her head completing the set. "I'll be fine."

"I somehow don't doubt it." He responded.

"Still to be safe." Spider raised her hand to an empty space over to the left of them and conjured three frost atronachs, large hulking chunks of ice given semi sentience. "They'll listen to you," She looked to a surprised Vivi and was faintly amused by the stunned Dalton. "if you end up in any trouble then order them to take care of it." She told them before she was covered in purplish flames and vanished from sight.

Inside the castle Luffy and Sanji had just finished their latest round of chasing the little reindeer when they both realised something majorly important.

"He walks on two legs and talks!" Luffy exclaimed.

"He isn't human and has fur..." Sanji continued.

"HE'S A MONSTER!" Both of them yelled to each other loud enough for the poor little fella to hear them.

Chopper slowly slunk away down a dark corridor he knew would lead back to the patient's room. He felt the same shame and anger from being called a monster even by those he treated and saved. It wasn't fair, why couldn't they just understand? Why did no one understand? He asked himself the same questions that had been in his head for years, not paying attention to the approaching figure until it was too late.

Chopper looked up and was frozen in place, walking towards him out of the dark was a tall humanoid _thing,_ it had wicked spikes jutting out of pitch black and red armour, the head having soulless eyes and frightful horns, as if a demon had walked right out of hell itself. The creature walked towards him with purpose only stopping once it had reached him and he could no longer hope to get away. He felt fresh tears start flowing. _'This is the end I just know it!'_ He cried in his head. _'I don't want to die!'_

It was the last thing he thought as he closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to see the thing that would end his life. But nothing came. After several heart wrenching seconds he opened his eyes seeing the creature bent down on one knee examining him. He felt a gentle on his hat as it patted his head softly three times before rising and continuing down the corridor towards where the two humans who chased were. After it was out of sight Chopper couldn't help it, he collapsed into a sitting position as he tried to calm his racing heart. _'That was so scary!'_

Spider climbed the stairs heading to where she sensed the presence of her crew, after a few minutes she came across a room that had the strongest pull and opened the door, inside was who she assumed to be Dr Kureha, an elderly looking woman with a style only someone a seventh her age should have, she wore purple jacket and jeans, a cropped top and a ring pierced her navel. Sanji and Nami were also here, Nami being in bed while Sanji served her food.

"Who are you?" Dr Kureha barked raising a scalpel threateningly after seeing Spider enter and close the door behind her.

"She's one of our crew, Spider what are you doing here?" Nami asked, evidently feeling much better.

Spider removed her daedric helm and approached the bed sitting on the end and placing the helmet beside her. "I finished helping out in town and decided to check up on your progress, how are you doing?" She asked concerned.

"Much better to be honest, I appreciate what you did to help but Dr Kureha and Chopper really fixed me up." Nami replied.

"Is Chopper the reindeer I met downstairs?" Spider inquired turning to Dr Kureha.

"Yes, he's my assistant. You didn't try to eat him did you?" She eyed Spider warningly.

"I would never try to harm something so adorable, who would even..." She slowly turned to Sanji and glared at the blonde who took several steps back.

"Hey now, it wasn't just me it was Luffy's idea too!" He defended.

"I'll deal with Luffy when he shows up." She growled.

"Chopper might be joining us." Nami suddenly said causing Spider to refocus on her. "If he uh, wants to, he doesn't really seem to like humans." Nami finished.

Spider shrugged. "Can't say I'm overly fond of them myself." This gained slightly offended looks from her crew. "Well I didn't mean you guys, but after a thousand years it's difficult to pretend to like humanity."

Dr Kureha laughed drawing attention. "It's a sentiment Chopper shares, minus the thousand years part, he's only a boy."

Spider found herself smirking slightly. "Usually people are shocked when I mention my age."

"I look like those idiots? I've lived long enough to know when I'm talking to someone older than me."

"hmm, still the reindeer is young to feel the way I do about humans." Spider pushed on the subject.

Kureha sighed. "Chopper has a scar on his heart..." She began to tell Chopper's story, about his families rejection of him to when humans called him a monster and tried to kill him. Then he met Dr Hiluluk and their time together. eventually even that reached its conclusion and she adopted Chopper teaching him about medicine bringing them back to the present.

As the story finished the door to the room burst open, a small screaming reindeer came flying in with a rubber boy laughing like there was no tomorrow hot on his heels. They rushed past the bed, allowing the reindeer to pass Spider quickly stood and grabbed Luffy by the back of his vest yanking him back and holding him in place as Chopper hid, the wrong way, behind Kureha's leg.

Luffy struggled valiantly but it was futile as he was trapped, like a fly in a web. "Ugh come lemme go! I wanna get him to join our crew. Oh Spider it's you, when's you get here?"

"If you want him to join why did you try to eat him?"

"That was before I saw how cool he was, come on can we keep him please?" Luffy begged.

Spider in her confusion dropped the rubber boy, tilting her head to the side. _'Why is he asking me?'_

"You don't think that, you called me a monster!" Chopper yelled staying behind the safety of his guardian's leg.

It was quiet as the statement was processed by everyone when a loud shouting noise was heard outside, the two doctors in the room apparently recognised it and instantly ran for the exit, presumably to confront whatever it was. Luffy and Sanji quickly following behind them.

Spider stayed in the room with Nami still thinking over what Chopper had said. ' _Did Luffy really call him a monster? He wouldn't do that unless... *sigh* he was complimenting him and didn't make it clear.'_ Deciding to try and make up for her captain's idiocy she clicked her helmet back on and left to help with whatever situation had appeared outside, though not before leaving a flame atronachs behind to guard Nami.

Half way down the stairs Luffy came rushing up to her. "Hey Spider, no time, do have a spare coat!?" Wordlessly she reached into her inventory and threw him a white fur coat that was designed more for comfort and warmth than action. "Thanks Spider!" He yelled jumping off the stairway and racing out the door while trying to put on the coat.

Instead of hurrying along she decided to take her time, allowing the scene to play out how it would have without her presence here, even if the sounds of explosions were a little alarming. Finally reaching the bottom of the stairs she walked towards the still open doors, the sounds of fighting growing louder the closer she got.  
Yet as Spider exited the castle the sight before her was just plain weird.

Kureha stood over a collapsed Sanji, probably after he'd injured himself. Luffy was somewhere above her as far as she could sense but wasn't sure what he was doing. Chopper stood in his small reindeer form in front of a strange human abomination. It looked like two henchman from the ship they'd encountered before had been mashed together forming one being. Behind them stood the man she'd thrown overboard, their king, though he looked like a house-man with cannons for arms.  
 _'This world is definitely peculiar.'_ She thought.

She came out in time to hear the back end of this things confrontation with Chopper, the two voices of the henchmen mixing as one. "-I'll bet you've spent your whole life all alone with no friends, you're a monster. Nobody likes you, people want to kill you!"

A sudden rumbling stopped them from speaking, they peered behind Chopper to see Spider's advancing figure. She drew her sword, an audible _scht_ as it was pulled free. She stopped when she was next to chopper, raising her sword so the tip pointed at the amalgamation. "You think he's a monster?" She growled in a dangerously quiet voice. "I'll show you a _monster._ "

Immediately she appeared before the abomination, grabbing him with her free hand and launching him to the left through the thick trunk of a tree causing it to fall. Ignoring the king Spider wasted no time in following up the attack quickly closing the distance between them, it was slow to get up, too slow. while on his hand and knees Spider drove her daedric blade into his calf to the hilt burying it into the ground effectively pining him in place. The screaming only encouraging her, Spider swiftly mounted the large... man despite his struggles an kneeled on his back. Drawing her arm back she drove it forth into his body, her hand closing around bone ripping out a section of his spine and chucking it aside.

Dropping down from her victim she grabbed her sword yanking it out of his leg, not that he'd felt anything below his hips given the damage to his central nervous system. At this point the poor soul was trying to crawl away. Not fast enough as she appeared in front of them grabbing his collar and flipping him onto his back. Both heads were crying out in pain, begging her to stop, her response was to cut out their tongues. Leaving the miserable wretches behind Spider smiled cruelly as she heard them begin to choke on their own blood.

 _'I failed him once, and I will never let it happen again.'_ She told herself, thinking back all those years, back to the time she had a family, back when she was... happy. Spider shook her head clear of the thought, walking back to the front of the castle she spied Chopper, Kureha and Sanji looking to the top of the castle as Luffy managed to blast Wapol far away with one of his signature moves.

Spider removed her helmet as she approached, choosing to kneel beside chopper as she had done when they first met, "Are you alright?" She asked him and in response he nodded slowly. "I'm sorry my captain called you a monster, I think he's sorry too. And no matter what that man said, If you'll let me I'd like to be your friend."

"That's... that's not true." Chopper replied meekly.

"Why do you think that?" She asked.

"Because everyone thinks I'm a freak and... and I have a blue nose!" He told her.

Spider smiled at the little reindeer. "Can I tell you secret?" She asked and when he said nothing but kept his focus on her she continued. "My son had a blue nose too."

His look of shock was priceless. "A human with a blue nose? No way!"

"Sykra wasn't human, he was an argonian like his father, kind of like human-lizards." She explained.

"Oh so you were his step-mom."

"No I was his actual mother." Spider told him, still with a smile on her face.

"But... that's not possible, a human can only-"

Chopper was interrupted when Spider held her hand out and swirls of mystical energy swam in her palm. "With magic anything's possible." She told him, patting him on the head after extinguishing the energy. Rising to her feet Spider went towards Sanji helping him to his feet. "What happened to you?"

"Hurt my back helping Luffy and Nami up the mountain." He replied while having one hand on his spine to dampen the pain. Though he quickly felt it drain away, replaced with a warm sensation as Spider healed the injury in waves of golden magic.

Dr Kureha was startled but remained composed. "If you could heal the girl why'd you come to us?"

"We decided to find an actual doctor since it's best not to rely on magic for everything anyway, tends to make you complacent." Spider explained.

That was when the people from the town started arriving, first Vivi, Usopp and Dalton appeared from what seemed to be a tunnel coming up from the edge of the mountain. Luffy jumped down to meet them and informed them of his fight with the king as Spider joined him.

"That.. that was king Wapol we saw flying away. You beat him?" Dalton didn't quite believe it.

"Well yeah me and the reindeer, but he started it." Luffy defended.

"What about his henchmen?"

"Oh I think Spider took care of him, right?" Luffy looked to his crew mate.

"One look at the body will tell you that." She told him.

"Hmm, hold on. You mentioned a reindeer..." Dalton didn't finish as he looked towards the tree line and saw Chopper hiding, once again the wrong way, behind a tree looking at them. "It's you, you didn't give up. Even after all these years you kept believing." He spoke with tears in his eyes as he fell to his knees.

Behind him more and more townsfolk filed out from the tunnel their eyes going to where Dalton was looking, several pointing their guns at Chopper.

"What is that!"

"It's a... a yeti"

"Well it's definitely a monster!"

"Shoot it!" Usopp was the last to yell.

Spider was quick to put herself between Chopper and the people, daring them to try something. "Any of you even try and shoot him I'll make sure no one will be able to identify the corpse." The promise was deadly clear as most dropped their weapons out of fear. All of them however backed away behind the relative safety of Dalton. Spider looked over to Vivi a flashed a smug smile. "And who said violence gets us nowhere."


	3. Chapter 3

The crew was back on the ship getting ready to set sail, and celebrate the addition of a new member. Tony Tony Chopper had officially joined the Straw Hat Pirates though it wasn't easy, after Spider had defended him from those townsfolk Luffy ran after him eager to introduce his 'new friend' to the rest of the crew which of course led to Chopper running away. So everyone was ordered to spend the next four hours chasing after him.

Spider managed to speed Nami's recovery using restoration Magic and was told by Dalton the huge help her frost atronachs had been in the fight against Wapol's soldiers, almost no one in the town had been hurt thanks to them. Finishing up in there Spider allowed Nami to pay the rest of the medical fees with a key she'd stolen from Wapol rather than giving the doctor any more weapons or money. The gold wasn't even Nami's but the reluctance to allow Spider to give it away was startling.

By nightfall Luffy had finally found and convinced Chopper to join though it was strange as the way he did it was by telling the little reindeer to 'shut up, lets go' which is not the way Spider saw _anyone_ making friends but it happened. And now they were partying on the ship enjoying the light show on top of the mountain where Kureha had fired the castles cannons after loading them with some kind of powder turning the snow pink. It looked beautiful, especially from afar as the mountain itself looked like a giant tree.

Spider was currently sitting on the left most stairs that led to the second floor of the ship watching the rest of the crew act like idiots around the new addition. Trying to get him to drink, sing and... shove chopsticks up his nose. Yeah no that's disgusting.

"Looks we've finally got ourselves a doctor, about time too." Nami spoke out standing next to Chopper while smiling.

"Huh? Seriously you're a doctor?" Zoro asked.

"Whoa cool!" Luffy exclaimed.

Nami did a double take. "Wait what did you think Chopper was when you invited him to join?"

"A talking, transforming reindeer monster." He answered her seriously.

"And with that I'm going to bed." Spider said as she rose and turned to the women's quarters.

"Oh come on Spider it's still early" Usopp complained.

"Yeah you still need to have fun!" Luffy cried.

"Apologies captain but I do need some rest, I've had some... painful memories come to mind recently." Spider admitted in a small voice that was unlike her. "I'll make it up to you tomorrow, promise." She told them before slipping into the cabin. Rather than go to bed Spider conjured a rich looking leather chair in the corner of the room and made herself comfortable, eventually entering a kind of trance as she filed away the memories of her past back to where they belonged. In the past.

* * *

Around midday Spider woke up from her little getaway and went out on deck, not even five seconds had passed when trouble was brewing, Karoo, Chopper and Usopp were fishing while munching on some snacks right as Sanji was complaining to Nami about buying a fridge that locks to keep the food safe from the rest of the crew, but mainly Luffy. Sanji had quickly spotted the trio snacking and went behind them, his hands on either side of the group. "So the fish biting?" He asked clearly a little ticked off making it clear he was about to knock their heads together.

Spider appeared behind him and rested a hand on his shoulder before leaning in close, whispering so that only he could hear. "Touch that reindeer and I'll force every demon in oblivion to take turns kicking you where it hurts most."

Spider quickly retreated leaving a very pale Sanji behind her. Instead of actually doing anything productive like she usually would like getting the crew to train or sort through her inventory for anything useful she decided to head to the back of the ship to the deck chair she liked to read on. Settling in Spider brought out another book but this one wasn't like the others, in fact it was a journal of her time here, ever since her first adventures in Skyrim Spider had kept a journal of everything she did and now started to write meticulous notes of her actions so far with the crew. This took her some time since she enjoyed the feeling of writing the notes herself rather than using magic.

Hours passed and eventually a new commotion came about though she didn't bother moving, instead deciding to finish her notes on what happened in Drum Kingdom having only just started describing what happened on their arrival. Soon however a thick cloud of steam surrounded the ship. _'Great, I'll damage the pages if I leave it out and I'd rather not waste time fixing it.'_ She thought before putting the journal back into her inventory. Standing up she stretched and sniffed the air. "Sulphur." She stated.

It took a few minutes but they made it out of the steam alright, though as Spider approached the front of the ship she noticed a new arrival. Drenched in sea water and thanking the crew for saving him was a brightly dressed man with swan heads on his shoulders and a lot of make up on his face. He looked ridiculous and sounded worse.

"So, who's our new guest." Spider asked as she descended to the main deck.

"Ah my darling, my name is Bon Clay, pleasure to meet you." He stood and did a dramatic twirl before taking Spider's hand and planting a kiss.

"Spider PoisonBlood, charmed." She replied politely while the others recoiled slightly. _'I recognise him from that woman's memories but I can't quite place him.'_

"So uh, you really can't swim huh?" Luffy asked Bon Clay.

"Yes, well you see I ate a devil fruit so my swimming faculties took a teensy bit of a nosedive." He explained.

"Yeah, what kind of fruit?" Usopp was the next to question the man.

"Let's see." Bon Clay spoke putting a hand on his chin in a thinking position. "Well since I can't go anywhere until my ship picks me up there's no harm in a little fun, since you saved my life I'll show you! Now get ready this is my pooooower!" He pushed his hand forward into an excited Luffy's face and all of a sudden, Bon Clay looked exactly like their captain. He was laughing like a maniac and it was honestly disturbing how accurate the detail was. "And if I touch my face with my left hand." He did so and his face morphed back into his own. "I'm back to normal, and that is the power of the clone-clone fruit you see."

Bon Clay used several other crew members as examples turning into Usopp, Chopper, Zoro and even Nami. Though he got hit spectacularly hard when he showed off the body change in that department. Then at the pestering of the more childish crew members he showed off his memory feature revealing several stored disguises he had on hand, most were just strange looking but one of them looked fairly normal. On the whole, Spider dismissed him as a travelling entertainer, who else would dress like that and act so strangely?

Soon enough his ship and crew came into view and sailed alongside the Going Merry looking for their captain. Bon Clay hopped up onto the side of the Merry. "It's time I said my goodbyes." He told them sounding regretful and was met by a lot of begging for him to stay by Luffy Usopp and Chopper. "Try not to be sad, journey's must always include farewells, and yet I will never forget you or today." He said with tears in his eyes. "It's been brief but true friendship isn't determined by time." He leaped across onto his own ship shouting, "Don't cry friends!" While the aforementioned crew members ignored him and cried anyway and said their own goodbyes.

"He was here for literally less than three minutes." Spider spoke to herself aloud.

"He was taken too soon." said Usopp with tears still streaming.

"You know what? I'm not touching this." Spider told them raising her hands in the air away from them as if the situation was physically there. As she did so however Bon Clay ordered his men to get them out of here and quickly their response?

"Yes sir Mr 2, Mr Bon Clay sir!"

Immediately Spider rushed to the front of the ship as Mr 2 sailed away, fireball in hand she waited until they were nearly out of sight before she launched it directly at the ship as it attempted to retreat, her aim was near perfect as the magical ball of flames rocketed and curved around the back of the ship flying just past Mr 2 sending him careening and most likely knocking him unconscious whilst blowing a huge hole in the ship as well as setting it on fire. Another fire ball hovering above her hand as she watched the sinking ship take on more and more water, just in case she needed it.

Fortunately no one saw Spider actually throw the fireball on Mr 2's ship so as it sank Spider extinguished the flame before they could and turned to the rest of the crew. "Full sail, we need to get out of here now."

"Right." Everyone replied in unison as they made a hasty get away pretending not to hear the cries for help on the other ship, and to be fair they were barely audible. Once they were at a safe distance the crew gathered around for a meeting.

"I feel kind of bad we did that, he said we were friends." Luffy looked down clearly saddened.

"He was one of the bad guy's Luffy, even if he was nice to us." Usopp reassured.

"I guess but still, it doesn't seem fair."

"You're acting as if you were the one to sink his ship." Zoro interjected.

"I'd do it again if I had to, he was one of Crocodile's higher ups meaning he must have been vital to whatever plan the Warlord has in mind, by taking him out of the equation we've thrown it into disarray, even if Mr 2 manages to make it to Alabasta it won't be until long after we've dealt with his boss." Spider reasoned.

"I guess you're right." Luffy said, shoulders slumped and still sounding a little sad.

"How about the next time we see him," _'If he's even alive.'_ "We take him out somewhere to eat as an apology. That sound good to you captain?" Spider tried bargaining, it usually worked.

"Yeah, yeah that will make up for it!" He yelled having decided and looking much happier for it.

"That's great and all but we still have to deal with Crocodile and the rest of his lackeys." Nami reminded everyone.

"We have our plan remember?" Spider asked. "We land in Nanohana and find out where the rebels are based, sending Vivi, Sanji, Usopp and Chopper to deal with their leader then after that's settled they can move on to the capital and Vivi can warn her father of the plot against their country while those with her can assist in protecting the king. That leaves Luffy, Zoro and myself the task of travelling to Crocodile's base of operations and making sure he can't escape the country. Also so that Luffy can 'kick his ass'."

"It sounds simple but so much can still go wrong." Vivi voiced her thoughts.

"And if something like that happens we'll deal with it, together." Sanji told her confidently.

Time to see if Crocodile could handle the heat.

* * *

It didn't take long to reach Alabasta, though the issue of all the Baroque Works ships also coming in to dock came up. Spider was all for incinerating them but the rest of the crew stopped her pointing out that Crocodile would know they'd arrived if all his incoming soldiers were killed in plain view, so she relented and held off but no sooner had they stopped the ship a little ways from the port, Luffy practically leapt off the Merry in search of food.

"He's easy to find, just look for the area with the commotion and that's where he'll be." Sanji assured everyone as he too jumped off.

"He's right." Usopp agreed.

"Ugh I wish he'd at least remember that he has a bounty on that Rubbery head of his, especially while we're in a big country like this." Nami complained.

"Forget about Luffy, he can take care of himself." Zoro chimed in as he climbed down too.

"Hmm, I wish I could go with you guys but I'll be way too recognisable here, I'll wait on the ship while you see if the rebels have moved since I was last here." Vivi informed those that were still on the Going Merry.

"You don't have to." Spider told her casually waving a hand over in Vivi's direction, red and green energy shot out and swirled around the princess changing her appearance, light blue hair turned auburn, her eyes went into a deep emerald and her face gained a healthy dabble of freckles around the nose. "No one in their right mind would think you're the princess now."

"How long will it last?" Nami asked after getting used to the new look.

"Until Vivi or I dispel it."

"This is amazing." Vivi eyed her reflection in the window of the door to Nami's office.

"You've seen me instantly kill a giant goldfish using only my voice yet this simple illusion is what you call amazing?" Spider asked incredulously but didn't stay for the answer instead shaking her head and jumping off the ship and head towards the port town. Though as she did Spider connected with the crew mentally in order to get their tasks straight, Sanji and Chopper were going to get supplies while the others were to gather the information they needed and Spider was on Luffy duty.

Scanning the area Spider found that Strangely Luffy was nowhere near the town and instead about a mile away next to another life form, though it's power was insignificant so her captain was in no present danger thankfully. She sighed "That boy.." As she moved through the crowds towards the edge of the town Spider overheard a familiar voice ahead of her.

"-Not a single pirate rogue will escape with you around." Tashigi happily exclaimed.

"If you're done chattering have the Alabasta royal army take care of these scum." Smoker ordered.

No mistaking it, Spider had an unobstructed view of the marine captain she had threatened before they'd entered the grand line, but what was he doing in Alabasta? ' _Better to ask than guess but it's doubtful he would be willing to comply. Who am I kidding, not as if that's ever stopped me before.'_ She thought to herself.

"So far I haven't heard anything about Straw Hat Luffy or any of the rest of them having landed on this island. But don't let your guard down, they'll show up I'm sure of it." Smoker stated purposefully.

It was too good of an opportunity to miss, especially since Spider was now practically next to the guy. Peering over his shoulder she spoke only one word. "Boo."

Smoker had impressive reflexes unlike his subordinate who actually fell over attempting to draw her weapon, he managed to pull out his jitte and take a swing only to have Spider grab the weapon near the end stopping his attack and causing a very angry marine captain to enter a staring contest.

"You know, that's not a very polite way to say hello." Spider mocked as a crowd gathered around the two, some helping Tashigi up off of the floor.

"I'm not in the habit of acting friendly with pirate scum like you." Smoker spat back.

"Nor am I in the habit of associating with pathetic low lives who have nothing better to do than track down a seventeen year old boy who to this day has done _nothing_ wrong." She retorted.

"He's a pirate!" Smoker yelled.

"Why? Because he waves a flag?" Spider scoffed. "Please spare me the idiocy, if I were to raise the marine flag that doesn't make me a marine does it? Tell me, what proof of _any_ crimes do you have on us because I doubt you'll have found a single person on your way here that hasn't spoken well of Luffy and his crew, or would that remind you of all those people your precious marines did nothing to save and we did?" Spider pushed the captain, antagonising him.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" He seethed and tried harder to move his jitte from her grasp. "You both attacked me back in Loguetown and resisted arrest, that's enough for me."

"Prejudicial nonsense, I defended myself and my captain after you presumed we'd committed a crime, where's your precious justice in that" Spider spat back at him releasing the weapon and turning away. As she did so Smoker transformed the bulk of his body into a dense smoke field making him at least ten feet tall and four feet wide, his menacing glare piercing the back of her head. He charged in with a raging yell fully intent on smiting his opponent. Then she stopped and so did he. Smoker's body refused to move, his entire being was fixed in place by an unknown force that slowly clamped down harder, reducing his size and causing him to cry out in pain. When he was back in his regular form Spider spoke again, for the first time in Alabasta during the midday sun the temperature dropped at her words. "Come after my crew again, I'll make you watch as I slaughter yours."

Slowly the heat returned and Spider started walking again releasing Smoker allowing him to fall onto his hands and knees gasping for breath. Some would have gone insane at the level of power She'd exerted over him yet he appeared only drained. How fortunate for him. She headed towards where she sensed Luffy, he'd managed to make his way back into town apparently. Eventually she found him inside a restaurant called 'Spice Bean' speaking to a half dressed man barely older than him, both stuffing their faces while talking. The guy had a cow boy hat with two faces on the hem, one smiling the other sad, and on his back was a tattoo of a purple cross with a matching skull that had a white moustache in the middle.

Taking a seat beside Luffy she waited for him to finish talking which took a fair few minutes. As she listened in Ace was the one talking. "You know Luffy, I'm here in these waters on some business, I'm with the Whitebeard pirates."

"I don't know the Whitebeard pirates Ace." Luffy told him while stuffing his mouth with various pieces of food.

_'Ace? That must be his brother then, well he's certainly changed since Luffy last saw him.'_

"See this tattoo, that's our mark and its my pride." He stated while Luffy looked impressed someone could gain so much of his brother's respect. "So Luffy, what do you say, you and your crew come join us!"

"No thanks." Luffy said to him causing Ace to burst into laughter.

"I had a feeling you'd say that. That's too bad because you see Whitebeard is the greatest pirate I've ever met. That's why I'm going to help him become king of the pirates and not you Luffy, sorry." Ace chuckled.

Spider chuckled a little too loudly, enough for them to actually notice her. Luffy was quick to introduce Ace to his crew's protector. "Ace this is Spider! The guardian I was telling you about, she's super strong and is helping us get stronger too!"

"Well then I'm glad Luffy's found someone good enough to take care of him, tell me though why'd you laugh just now?" Ace asked her curiously.

Leaning onto the counter she looked Ace in the eyes. "Because I won't let you make Whitebeard king of the pirates." This gained a challenging look in Ace's eyes so Spider continued. "I can't kill you because then my captain would be upset." Earning a nod from Luffy. "But if I were to remove your captain from the equation instead..."

Ace laughed, hard. "You... you think you could... defeat him?!" He wheezed in between breaths at what he though must have been a hilarious joke.

 _'Unless this Whitebeard is more powerful than the god of destruction and daedric prince of domination combined I'd crush him like an insect if I didn't know Luffy would want the first fight.'_ Spider thought to herself. "I'm stronger than I look."

"That's true! She flicked this GIANT house I got stuck under and it turned to dust!" Luffy bragged.

"Really?" Ace turned semi serious for a moment after seeing vigorous nodding from his little brother. "Then what do you say to a small contest?"

"Captain?" Spider asked for permission.

"Yeah I wanna see this!" He yelled excitedly.

Ace hopped over the bar surprising the owner and placed his arm on the table in front of Spider. She grasped it and waited for the arm wrestling contest to begin when Ace looked at her with full seriousness. "No holding back." He told her and immediately his hand set ablaze and he pushed with all his might against her. Spider on the other hand remained perfectly still for the next several seconds before pulling out a pouch of coins with her spare hand and throwing it to the owner who caught it with a questioning look.

"For the damage, and take a few steps back, you too Luffy." She told them and they did so after a moments confusion. Once they were a relatively safe distance back Ace's flames grew and he doubled his efforts. Spider instantly smashed his hand down and through the counter, Ace was on the floor groaning until he looked at his arm in shock. Spider had managed to break it in several places and his hand looked like something out of a horror show. Instead of gloating she helped the young pirate to his feet and used her restoration magic to heal his injured limb causing everyone who saw it to be shocked at her ability. "I know you said not to hold back but I'd rather not kill you, like I said it would displease my captain."

"What the hell was that? A devil fruit?" Ace questioned as she and a laughing Luffy led him out of the restaurant.

"I told you she was strong!" He jabbed at his brother.

"And no I haven't eaten a devil fruit, to be honest I find them to be more of a hinderance than anything else." Spider told Ace truthfully.

"Hey I'm not a... whatever that word is!" Luffy said to her sounding defensive.

"If I throw you into the sea, I automatically win. How is that not a hinderance when as a pirate you _live_ at sea?" Spider threw back.

"Well because... because I'm the captain and I say it isn't." He told her confidently and looking damn proud of himself.

* * *

Back on the ship the crew regrouped and relayed what they found. Apparently the rebels moved their base to a settlement very close to Nanohana saving them a worthless trek through the desert to their old headquarters. The next step was to get everyone ready for their parts in the plan, Sanji made everyone as much food as he could with the supplies he bought in town, Nami received her new weapon from Usopp and at Spider's insistence was given a run down in how to properly use it.  
The newly dubbed 'climatact' was made out of tubes of dwarven metal, sturdy and strong if a little heavy, but the kinks could be worked out later.

Ace for his part was pushed for time, apparently he was on the trail of some pirate that betrayed Ace and his fellow Whitebeard pirates. He'd even asked for a private word with Spider about it, he told her that Marshall D. Teach AKA Blackbeard was not someone that the Straw Hat Pirates could handle, not only was he a New World veteran but he'd managed to get his hands on the dark-dark devil fruit.

"Why are you telling this to me and not Luffy?" Spider inquired.

"Because Luffy isn't strong enough to face Teach, and if I tell him that he's going to want to prove me wrong." Ace reasoned.

"Then what do you want me to do if we come into contact with him?"

"Stay away and try to get a message out to me by leaving it with the locals, I have a few friends that will pick it up from there." He told her.

"Fine, but if he attacks my crew I can't guarantee he'll survive what I do to him." Spider warned.

"That's the best I'm going to get isn't it?" Ace smiled. "You're as cocky as Luffy."

She smiled back. _'Perhaps I misjudged Ace's character from Luffy's memories, he seems to be a good brother.'_ "Good luck on your hunt but don't get yourself killed, I'm not sure Luffy could handle it."

After that Ace said his goodbye's to the crew and Luffy, gifting him a piece of paper confusing everyone present since he only told him that he'd understand when he reached the second half on the grand line before jumping off the ship and onto a small boat powered by his flame fruit power.

Luffy held the paper in his hands examining it while Ace zoomed away across the calm waters.

"What do you think it could be?" Usopp asked coming up beside him.

"I don't know."

"Hold on a moment." Spider told him. "Raise it higher please." After he did so she could see an ethereal line stretching towards the direction Ace headed and she was willing to bet that it led directly to him. "Interesting, it's connected to your brother as if it was a part of him but I can't tell much more than that."

"How can you even tell that?" Nami asked from the side.

"There's a kind of fuzzy line that's moving from it towards the direction Ace headed in, it's just a guess but I can see part of Ace's life force embedded into the paper." Spider clarified causing several members of the crew to stare at the paper in wonder and whisper 'so cool' together.

"I can sew it to the inside of your hat so you won't lose it." Nami offered and Luffy accepted happily once he was done being amazed by the tiny scrap of parchment.

The next half hour was another detailed once over of the plan which was kept pretty basic all things considered, Spider's reason being 'Luffy is involved' and the less obvious being that complicated plans often fall apart after one thing goes wrong, simple plans don't have that weakness. So Nami, Vivi, Sanji, Usopp and Chopper set off to meet with the Rebels and later the king in order to try to end this war peacefully while Spider, Luffy and Zoro went straight to the heart of the issue, Rain Base where Crocodile apparently resides. The issue of not knowing where exactly it was being solved by following a supply convoy bound for the casino.

It would take the other group at least a few days to reach the capitol city if talks with the rebels went well, maybe a little longer if they didn't so Spider wasn't worried about the time it would take to reach the warlord, hell if anything he'd be waiting for them. Three days later they stood in front of Rain Dinner's casino at around midnight, it was a giant pyramid with a golden crocodile at the top looking out over the city. The moat surrounding the building was impressive and the entrance looked to be well designed. Aside from a small disagreement with some security guards stationed outside that Zoro swiftly took care of the group entered the Casino relatively easily and found someone waiting for them.

"If you'd care to step right this way, Crocodile's been expecting you." Nico Robin told them as she stood in front of the door in the same cow girl outfit she'd had before but this time with the addition of an expensive looking white jacket.

"Good because I'm gonna kick his ass!" Luffy told her rushing forward without actually being told where to go.

Watching her captain run toward the other end of the casino Spider turned to Robin who had a careful smile as they looked to each other. Spider removed her helmet so she could get a better look at the human, beautiful blue eyes tried to disarm her but she looked deeper, there was pain behind those eyes and Spider knew a lot about the kind of pain it was. The fake smile wasn't of any interest to her either as it was just a defence against showing how she really felt. Taking a few steps to Robin she saw the woman flinch and drop her smile momentarily until Spider placed a hand on her shoulder, not aggressively but in a more sympathetic manner surprising the other woman.

Spider turned back to Zoro who was looking conflicted between going after Luffy and staying with Spider. "Could you make sure Luffy doesn't destroy the place, I'd like to collect at least some evidence of Crocodile's crimes." She received a nod as he quickly gave chase to the boy. Turning back Spider saw Robin was unsure of what to do so she removed her hand and started walking away before noticing Robin wasn't following. "You coming?"

It took a moment but she moved to Spider's side and the two began the long walk to the VIP area of the Casino. "Why did you do that?" Robin asked "Put your hand on my shoulder." She explained at Spider's confused look.

"I didn't see it when we last met but you have had a tough life, it may not seem like it but I know the kind of pain you have felt." Spider revealed to the raven haired woman.

"I.. I don't-"

"It's soul crushing. The only thing that drove you forward was survival and when that became meaningless it was a singular goal to make all the heartbreak seem worth it," Spider turned to Robin as they were about half way across the casino. "it's not going to."

"And just how do you know that." Robin snapped.

"Because I reached mine." She told her.

The two continued the rest of the way in silence, entering a fancy doorway and down a corridor until a fork was reached with a sign that told VIP's to go left and Pirates to go right. Logically the pirates sign would be the direction Luffy listened to if he even bothered to read it, and if not Robin would correct her. So she turned and when Robin said nothing but remained by the sign Spider figured the dead end must be an elevator built into the corridor. But as she went further in the floor suddenly opened up beneath her feet. She didn't move. Spider looked like she was stood on air and looked back to Robin with a _Seriously?_ Expression.

"You've already told me my life is meaningless the least you can do is fall into the trap." Robin spoke from across the hall.

"I'll fall if you do." Spider replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Robin asked raising an eyebrow.

Spider smiled back at her. "Too late." She said releasing the magic keeping her from falling and soon she was surrounded by darkness, until she landed on one knee inside a fancy looking cage, her captain and Zoro were on her right trying and failing to break the bars. while a familiar white haired marine was on her left freezing up at the sight of her. "What are you doing here."

Shaking his head Smoker responded. "Headquarters gave me orders to check in on Crocodile while I'm here to get an 'outside' view on the situation in Alabasta." He told her.

"That's a lot of information to give to someone you consider an enemy, I thought you were more of an upstanding marine."

"Damn pirate." Smoker growled. "I don't want to give you a reason to hurt my men just because I didn't tell you about some pointless order I received."

Nodding Spider left him to his side of the cage as she looked around the room they were in. Honestly speaking it was nothing more than a fancy office that appeared to be under the lake outside, several large crocodiles with a strangle growth on top of their heads swimming outside the oversized window. To the left of that was an oversized door built to allow about half a giant through. A few plants were scattered around though a clean desk and large chair was directly below the window. A door off to the right opened and out stepped Nico Robin holding something in her arms, they looked like papers of some kind but she couldn't tell until Robin went down the massive staircase and came closer. Her attention was drawn away when the chair behind the sparse desk turned revealing the person behind this mess.

To Spider Crocodile didn't look particularly intimidating, then again no one did anymore. He had slicked back purple hair, heartless eyes and a horizontal scar running all the way across his face. The black fur coat he had draped over his shoulders rather than fully warn gave him an important appearance showing both his power and wealth. But his most noticeable aesthetic was the golden hook that replaced his left hand.  
Having read a book on the seven warlords Spider knew Crocodile had eaten a sand-sand devil fruit and the exactly the nasty stuff he could do with it, doubtless that was what helped him gain renown as a ruthless pirate and candidacy for the warlord program.

"Who are you?" Luffy asked and received a smack to the head courtesy of Zoro. He leaned on the bars of the cage for support only feeling himself getting weaker.

"It's clearly the bad guy!" Zoro shouted at his captain.

"So he works for Crocodile?" This caused both Zoro and Smoker to sweatdrop.

"No darling I believe that is Crocodile." Spider told Luffy while removing him from leaning on the bars of the cage. "You heard me read the chapter on sea stone in one of those books I bought, why are you practically hugging it?"

"I wasn't paying attention, I just thought you'd give me food if I looked like I was."

Zoro chuckled a little. "He wasn't wrong."

"If you're all finished I'd like to get back to business." Came an irate voice from outside the cage. Crocodile had since risen and came about half way across the room, about five feet away from the bars.

"You're better off just talking to me." Spider told him after noticing that Zoro get comfortable and go to sleep and Luffy start prodding Smoker at the back of the cage. "They aren't too interested when it comes to conversations, unless you want to hear a lot of shouting."

"I suppose you'd know better than I on that front. But remind me, when we last talked through the transponder snail I seem to remember being threatened." He cracked an evil smile through half lidded eyes.

"You've lost five of your elite agents to me already." Spider replied as she reached around one of the sea prism bars. "Don't count us out just yet." She crushed the small portion of the cage making it look malformed.

"I was wondering what happened to Mr 2 after I sent him to see if there was anything left of Mr 3 and Ms Golden week." He seemed to be concealing concern over damage to the cage.

"Glad I was able to throw your plans into disarray."

"Hmm. Even without Mr 2 I'll be able to incite enough rebels to charge into Alubarna and start fighting the royal army, despite your allies' attempts." He sneered.

"I take it that means you've done something to the rebel leadership Vivi met with."

"Correct, after she and the rest of your crew convinced him to agree to peace talks and ran off to Alubarna I had my spies remove him and make it look like he betrayed the fools." Crocodile flaunted his ability to adapt.

"How irritating, we can either stop you here or go to Alubarna and help prevent a war you managed to instigate in spite of our efforts." Spider recited her options. She couldn't just kill Crocodile because that was Luffy's job, and if she took it then there'd be no improvement for the boy. That just left escaping to Alubarna and Leaving Crocodile here.

"Assuming you'll make it out of that cage, not even the beasts out there can chew through those bars." Robin told her, pointing out the window to a few passing crocodiles.

_'In this enclosed space I doubt Luffy will be able to beat him, better to let him escape and hope he heads to Alubarna, there he might be able to use the open space to out manoeuvre the cocky bastard. Better yet it will lead to a more exciting showdown, this dismantling an evil plot to the point where nothing happens is just being a killjoy.'_

"It wouldn't do to allow any of you to live, or to leave any evidence behind." At a snap of his fingers the giant doors to the left opened along with a trap door, Crocodile and Robin began heading up the huge flight of stairs as a gargantuan crocodile crawled up from the trapdoor. "Soon this place will flood from the lake surrounding the casino and you'll all drown, and on the off chance you manage to escape you'll be dinner for him."

When they were around three quarters up the stairs and water covered the first few steps Spider began chuckling, just loud enough the pair turned to see what was so funny, noticing their attention on her, Spider looked the warlord directly in the eyes. Placing a hand on the bars she pushed the entire wall of said cage off from the rest of it. Stepping forward several paces and still holding the cage wall Spider twisted back then launched it at the beast like a spinning instrument of death it smashed straight through the animal causing a shower of blood to stain the rising water.

"I'll see you soon." She told their retreating forms. Finding her eyes drawn to Crocodile's desk she noticed that the once clean surface now had a thick folder sitting on it, picking it up and looking at the first page there was a note attached to the inside cover.

 _This is everything you need to prove Crocodile's involvement, don't disappoint me._ It was written in swirly handwriting with large letters, despite the message the writer seemed to be hopeful.

* * *

Once they'd managed to escape, by that I mean Spider kicked Zoro awake so that he could carry Luffy out and Spider could handle dragging Smoker away since the water level had risen high enough to drain both devil fruit users. Quickly the group managed to get outside after fighting through more casino security and a more than significant number of baroque works agents, there was no sign of Crocodile or Robin anywhere so the next logical step was to get to Alubarna faster than they or the misled rebels.

They exited the city limits and ventured out into the vast desert once Smoker had left in a huff not saying a word of thanks even after Spider had so kindly taken him with her out of the death trap _and_ against her better judgement handed the marine captain the folder containing evidence of Crocodile's crimes against Alabasta. Even so Spider was no fool and skimmed the file focusing particularly on the end of the plan which involved blowing up a significant portion of the capitol city with a bomb in the clock tower.

"What do we do now? We won't make it to the capitol before Crocodile." Zoro pointed out.

"Coward ran away before I could kick his ass!" Luffy shouted at no one.

"I've got a way to get us there before they do, and a way for you to fight crocodile." Spider told them as they walked out a little further. when Zoro looked like he was going to say something she held up a hand quietening him as she stopped moving. Looking at the sea of sand she spoke the ancient summons. **"Durnehviir!"**

The sands shifted, cracking and breaking in purple fire as if it was solid earth until a huge rip formed before them. A giant clawed wing rose from the pit followed by another which proceeded to drag the body of the ancient dragon from underground. Once his long and bony tail was free the sands closed over the scar on the desert's surface.

A huge hulking dragon stared down at them, half decayed from his cursed state his skull had no scales over the upper left segment leaving only bone and a hollow hole staring where his eye should have been. Durnehviir's wings looked heavily weathered with many large tears in the leathery flesh calling his ability to fly into question for anyone who saw their sorry state though it in no way took away from the sheer size of the wings themselves since each was as big several modest houses. Across the dragon's entire body his greyish green scales almost seemed to ooze off of him culminating into the nightmarish image of the undead dovah.  
 **"Drem yol lok Qahnaarin."** He greeted Spider before lifting his massive head and looking at his surroundings. **"What is this strange place Sheogorath has sent you to? Zu'u koraav sahlo lah ahst fin su." (I sense lesser magic in the air).**

Spider looked to Zoro and Luffy gauging their reactions to her summoning him, Zoro had his hands on his katanas ready to draw them whilst Luffy had stars in his eyes and his mouth wide open as he gawked up at Durnehviir. Satisfied they weren't either going to attack or feint she turned her attention back to the dragon. "Drem yol lok Durnehviir. The magic you sense is from a fruit that grants abilities and weaknesses to those who eat them." She answered feeling it would be impolite to ignore the question despite the time limit. "Mu fent wundun voth vosaraan, fen hi aak?" (we need to travel with haste, will you assist?).

 **"Geh, I am indebted every time you free me from that dreaded soul cairn."** Durnehviir agreed, his raspy yet powerful vocals carrying far into the desert.

"THIS IS SO AWESOME!" Luffy burst out in awe. He suddenly catapulted his arms forward grabbing Durnehviir's horns and launched himself up and over the mighty dragon, landing in the crook of his neck ready to get going while laughing with joy at the fact he got to ride on such a cool creature.

Spider and Zoro mounted once Durnehviir lowered his head allowing them access. As they got settled Durnehviir shifted his weight preparing to take flight, slowly flapping his wings sending sand billowing away in all direction until they were high off of the ground. Spider directed him to where she sensed the rest of the crew allowing him to fly with purpose, Luffy had insisted in being at the front just short of the dragon's head having been persuaded not to be on the head itself due to it being distracting. Taking out a pair of silk gloves she enchanted Spider handed them to the boy explaining they would allow him to bypass the devil fruit Crocodile had eaten, he'd thanked her and trying them on found the gloves to be a perfect fit.

The rest of the flight over to Alubarna was quiet though fairly quick since they were travelling via dragon. The early morning sun just peering over the horizon and in front of it a small army rode across the desert towards the capitol leaving a huge dust cloud in their wake. They were around a half mile away from the gates where two figures were waiting, blocking a relatively small portion of the entrance. Spider could sense it was Vivi along with a life force that had great similarity to hers.

 _'Must be her father.'_ Spider concluded. Below her the vast capitol city was similar to the ancient cities in Hammerfell she'd visited back home, though never before had she been tasked with stopping an army from entering. However to their surprise a familiar figure was stood atop one of the larger buildings in his signature fur coat. _'His sand fruit must allow his to travel great distances across the substance, it's the only way he could have beat us here.'_

"CROCODILE!" Luffy cried as he leapt off of Durnehviir's neck shooting straight for the warlord leaving the other two behind.

"LUFFY!" Zoro yelled after him but was clearly too late to stop the young captain. "Idiot, why does he always go off without a plan?"

Spider laughed. "He has a plan even if it's not a smart one. Luffy has those gloves I gave him too so Crocodile will get weaker with every hit." She told the swordsman.

"He's still an idiot for going alone." Came the stubborn response.

"And you wouldn't do the same in his position?" Spider asked.

Zoro's reply came in the form of a "tsk."

That was when Spider noticed two figures headed straight for Vivi and her father, fighting through their guards and cutting them down with ease, only being slowed down by Nami and her new weapon but she was clearly losing. "If you'd like to show how much you've improved, those two might be a challenge for you" She gestured to the two figures below them. Spider turned and saw a feral grin on the green haired swordsman at the prospect of a fight and he too jumped from the dragon that was still in flight, he was expertly using his phoenix strikes to guide the descent.

The rebel army still charged forward getting very close to the city seemingly having no regard for the two royals blocking the path just outside the entrance to Alubarna. _'Perhaps the army can't see them at that range.'_ She thought when a canon fired from the wall obscuring the area in front of the royals definitively obscuring them from sight just as they were getting within discernible view.

Spider cursed having not thought of the traitors inside the royal army itself. "Land in that dust cloud, it's time we ended this." She ordered and received a nod in return from the dovah. Durnehviir instantly dived rocketing to the ground only to unfurl his wings and slow his fall at the last second. Still his landing blew away the dust clearing the area, the entire army was only twenty feet or so from them, skidding to a grinding halt at the giant ferocious looking creature towering over them.

Spider hefted herself onto the mighty dragon's head balancing effortlessly and making herself seen by all. **"MEY TUM HIN ZUN UV LUFT VAHZAH BAH!"** (Fools, throw down your weapons or face true wrath). As one, the two hundred thousand men in the rebel army immediately proceeded to shit themselves and throw aside their swords, guns, knives and anything that could even be perceived as a weapon in a great cacophony of clattering metal.

Spider looked down the cowering mortals as they felt her overpowering aura crush their sense of self. **"BOVUL!"** (Flee). As one every soldier turned their steeds back in the opposite direction and rode hard away from her, none daring to look back at her or the terrifying dragon she commanded.

Spider smiled at the sight of them retreating, truly it was a great pleasure to see armies run at the thought of fighting her though a little dull since if she wanted it would happen _every_ time and what warrior would she be if a fight didn't entice her as much as the fear she'd accumulated. _'Next time, I'm having a little fun before they have chance to turn tail.'_

Suddenly the ground once again cracked and split opening wide into a pit of purple flames. **"My time is at an end, until next time Qahnaarin."** Durnehviir spoke as the ground slowly swallowed the hulking dragon. Spider stepped off of his head once she was at the same level as the ground and waited for it to close over before walking towards two almost terrified looking royals.

"They are alive because of you, even if I find it foolish you don't wish for blood to spill in a war." Spider told Vivi once she stopped in front of her.

"I-... What was that _thing?"_

"Durnehviir, he's an old friend of mine." She replied easily before turning to the King. "I assume the other members of my crew kept you safe while we were away."

Cobra shook his head free of the shock of seeing the undead dragon seemingly being dragged back into the pits of hell and responded. "Yes, your friends Sanji, Chopper and Usopp were able to prevent me from being kidnapped by some of Crocodile's number agents, last I heard they were still fighting somewhere just outside the city."

Spider did a disappointed hum at the news. "I'll have to train them to be better." She spoke quietly to herself then looked past the two royals towards the large and impressive clocktower. "I need to take care of Crocodile's bomb, while I do that please order your men to stand down and detain anyone that has anything relating to 'Baroque Works' on their person." That being said she proceeded to push past them heading towards her objective, only to be followed a few moments later by a disgruntled Vivi and her father after he'd done as asked.

"Where's the bomb I want to help." Vivi started as she kept up with the brisk pace.

"You can't keep putting yourself in danger Vivi, I lost you once I can't do it again." Cobra countered.

"This is the last threat Crocodile has hanging over us, I have to finish this!" She told him defiantly.

The king had a moments hesitation before he went to answer only for a well dressed figure to come crashing past them from their left through a now vacant street. Removing himself from the rubble of a demolished section of wall that had been a part of somebody's store Crocodile took in his surroundings noticing the three for the first time.

"You." The man launched from his standing position towards the royals getting within inches of them when a hand seized his throat. hanging just above the ground Crocodile struggled in Spider's grasp clawing at her arm, probably questioning why he couldn't turn into sand or turn her arm into dust.

Spider looked at him for a moment before turning back to peer down the previously empty street now seeing a lone figure standing at the far end. Her trained eyes saw Luffy had received a fair amount of damage and he'd lost one of the gloves she'd given him to fight the warlord but to compensate he'd covered the hand in his own blood in order to be able to hit him. _'Smart move.'_ Spider thought as she turned her attention back to the dishevelled and snarling man himself. "Get the fuck out of my face." Spider then casually tossed Crocodile back down the street into her captain's waiting fist and continued towards the clocktower.

"Vivi told me you were strong but to render a warlord helpless is... disturbing." Cobra talked as they went.

"Your head would explode before you could comprehend how strong I am. It's a shame I can't use it since Luffy called 'dibs' on the best fights." Came the simple response when Robin came walking towards them from the direction of the clocktower. "Before you get yourselves killed I suggest you run."

"Why, you beat her before." Said Vivi, drawing her peacock weapon things.

"I have, but I find that she's more sympathetic than you so good luck." Spider told her as she pressed on. Robin got within hearing distance and the two royals stopped, taking up defensive stances. "I hope you find what you're looking for."

Robin hummed tipping her hat in response as the Dovahkiin passed her by without another word.

Spider knew that the woman wouldn't hurt the royals beyond a superficial amount which was better than she would have been in the old days, before all these adventures across worlds, before Serana started to drag her back to sanity. Either way it was a straight shot to the clocktower, inside she quickly climbed to the top entering a room just behind the clock face that housed a cartoonish looking cannon loaded with a bomb along with two Baroque Works agents stood beside it.

They were clearly number agents given the ridiculous costumes they wore, the female had a frog hat as well as a frog themed crop top and skirt while the male boasted a 17th century French nobility style wig, red and gold sunglasses and a purple coat.

"Ribbit ribbit Mr 7, it appears we have an intruder! Ribbit ribbit." She exclaimed to her partner.

"It appears so Ms Fathers day, shall we dispose of her." He replied pulling his strange gold pistol out.

Spider for the most part ignored them, she used her magic to conjure a demonic looking hand that pulled at the fuse and ripped it from the cannon before throwing it aside. "If you want to live I suggest you leave whilst I'm feeling charitable." Mr 7 fired his gun at her in retaliation only to back away along with his partner when the bullet crumpled on impact with her armour. Spider stalked towards the two but when she was next to the cannon a feint ticking caught her attention. _'Are you fucking serious?'_

 _'Even his back up plans have a back up plan.'_ Teased a voice in the back of her mind.

 _'You've been out done Dovahkiin.'_ Another followed.

"Pfft." Spider responded and raised her left hand to the weapon firing a beam of frost completely encasing it in ice, the new jagged form looking completely out of the ordinary given the climate of the desert country. "Let's see it explode now." She added with a hint of smugness.

"You can't think that will work!" Mr 7 interrupted. "In this heat it will melt in no time." Wordlessly Spider tapped the cannon with the sharp claw of her gauntlet and the entire thing shattered into a million pieces without setting off the bomb.

"*Gulp* Ribbit."

"I am really trying to be a better person." She started coming closer to the two partners who backed up towards the clock face together. "Because that's what everyone always wants from me." Their backs hit the stained glass blocking them from moving any further. "The problem is that there are always people like you and your boss." Spider was inches from the two, her hands slowly wrapping around their necks, claws biting into the soft flesh. "I lost everything once due to being the kind heroic do gooder I was." Pressure built up cracking the glass of the clock face as the duo cried out from the crushing pain until they finally turned into screams as Spider sent them crashing through the glass and watched as both fell to their demise, the girl being silenced after her head smacked off of part of a balcony almost decapitating her while her counterpart sailed towards to ground with bone crunching thud. "I'll never be that foolish again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little tired so remind me to add the rest of the chapters I have tomorrow. I'm counting on you :)


	4. Deadly Protector

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the reminder :)

Spider stepped forward dropping from the tower and plummeting down the front of the structure, cracking the blood soaked ground on her landing beside the two dead baroque works agents. Not even sparing them a glance she started walking away to the palace where she sensed Luffy, Vivi, Crocodile, Robin and the king.

 _'If anyone asks, they jumped out that clocktower themselves after failing to stop me.'_ She thought. _'Yeah that works. This way Luffy won't have to be disappointed that I killed without it being necessary again.'_ Spider nodded to herself as she walked and spiralled further down this line of thought. _'He wouldn't be too angry anyway but still its not as if...'_ Spider stopped dead in her tracks. What in oblivion was she doing? Yes ladies and gentlemen the mighty warrior that killed and devoured the soul of the dragon god of destruction spent the last five minutes fretting over what a _seventeen year old_ boy thought of her, a _two thousand_ year old Dovahkiin!

"What is happening to me?" Spider said to herself as purplish flames surrounded her, removing the daedric armour and leaving her in the casual attire she favours when on the ship. Now she looked no more threatening than she had on that day so long ago, before all this dragon soul business. Looking down at her gloved hands Spider scanned for any minute change but there wasn't any, she hadn't physically changed in any way. Closing her eyes she reached into the core of her soul feeling the countless lights of those she'd devoured float around her, feeling the strength she drained from each of them to fuel herself. No different.

Returning to reality she felt a strong hand reach around her from behind, fingers curling around her exposed throat. Opening her eyes Spider could see a bloodied Zoro about ten feet in front of her gripping his Katanas tightly as he assessed how best to continue.

"One move and your crew mate's blood is on your hands." The guy behind her stated digging his fingers into her throat a little more, this was when Spider noted he'd turned them into blades. No one other than her would have been able to pull of something so suicidal and live, grabbing his wrist Spider yanked it across her flesh making sure to keep constant contact with the bladed appendage. She stepped forward and turned revealing not even a nick in her flawless skin. "Impossible."

Spider winked at him and didn't interfere with the battle any more though as she passed Zoro noticing his sidelong glance Spider smiled wickedly. "Tear him apart." She told him and continued to grin as the sounds of fighting continued behind her. _'Zoro is stronger than that clown, if I were still mortal I'd be worried about the competition.'_

Weaving through the rest of the streets Spider soon climbed the steps to the palace searching for her captain. Though she was concerned about her sudden desire not to let him down now wasn't the time to dwell on the matter. There were clear signs of a struggle around her leading towards the side of the building. _'Crocodile must have dragged the fight over here after I threw him back to Luffy.'_

Following her senses Spider found a staircase in the middle of the courtyard leading down to what she assumed to be a crypt. She had been about to enter when she saw something made her heart freeze. Luffy rising from the underground passage, with him he carried Cobra and Vivi on his back, supporting a limping Robin by having her arm over his shoulder, and dragging an unconscious Crocodile behind him with his free hand. In that moment she had a part of her answer. This boy was everything she could have been, saving people that didn't deserve it and being strong enough to protect his friends... his family from those very people.

Luffy looked beaten and bloody but he still smiled when he saw she was waiting for him and Spider couldn't stop herself from smiling back, with it promising what she hadn't realized she'd always been fighting for. _'For the remainder of my time here, I'll defend his smile to the end. If anyone threatens his soul, no matter who they are or how much power they hide behind, I'll kill them all before I let them take another family away from me.'_ This sank into her very being, binding itself to her before she even realized. _'He's trapped me and I can't find it in me to care.'_

Rather than wasting another second Spider stepped toward them and took Robin from him in order to relieve some of the burden. A healing spell ready in her hand flowing from Robin to Luffy to the two on his back restoring their strength so that each could stand on their own besides the warlord who was still being dragged by the straw hat captain.

"Congratulations captain you've just defeated a warlord of the sea, I can't wait to celebrate your new bounty when the marines find out." Spider spoke warmly and smiled at the delightedly ecstatic look that crossed Luffy's face.

"YOU THINK SO! man I can't wait to see it, you think it'll be bigger than Ace's!?" Luffy practically bounced around the group still dragging Crocodile along with him scraping the man across the ground and unintentionally smacking him up and down causing everyone present to giggle or laugh the his antics.

* * *

Two days after the events of Crocodile's failed coup de tat the Straw Hat crew was gathered in the royal palace preparing to enter the royal baths, the girls, Vivi and Nami going to the right and the boys heading left. Spider had to delay her arrival slightly as she handled the marine presence outside. She and Smoker had a shaky alliance going after recent events, she admitted that as pirates there were things they did that were outside of the law and Smoker admitted that the Marines and World Government were far from perfect. On this basis the two mutually agreed to help each other when necessary, this essentially meant that Smoker wouldn't chase them when he could help it and Spider would continue to provide Smoker with evidence she finds against corrupt marines or the goings on of infamous pirates. So for now the marines were held back by Smoker's influence due to his upcoming promotion for supposedly handling the situation in Alabasta. It was funny that he thought she might have been angry at the World Government for trying to cover up that pirates had to save the country but all she did was congratulate him on the promotion and to not lose himself to their twisted version of 'justice' like so many others.

Robin had, for lack of a better word disappeared. Spider knew she was still in Alabasta along the coast but hadn't focused on finding her respecting the last words she'd heard the woman whisper. _"I need to go. To think about what comes next."_ The way her raven hair fell over one of her eyes hiding it from view made Spider want to reach out and brush it away but Robin had already turned and walked away rounding a corner and Spider found herself hoping it wouldn't be the last time she'd see the flower-flower fruit user. It was rare to find someone that had experienced something similar to herself.

Shaking the memory away Spider wound her way through the palace after being directed to the changing room. Stripping down she placed her clothes into her inventory rather than leaving them in the room. walking towards the royal baths a steamy gust hit her and sent a pleasant tingle up her spine, it would be nice to relax with the girls even if she didn't always get along with Vivi, Spider knew that if it came down to it she'd fight as hard for Vivi as she would for any other member of her crew. So distracted by these thoughts Spider simply walked through the corridors without thinking where she was going and quite suddenly found herself half way into the baths, water up to her knees. Right in front of _all_ the boys.

Zoro was off to the left lying down in the water giving her a sidelong glance with a slight smirk before turning his head back and closing his eyes. Sanji had fallen onto his ass and stared with heart eyes as a trickle of blood started flowing down his nose right alongside Cobra minus the heart eyes. Usopp had managed to blush a deep scarlet and turn away, not quite confident enough to ogle her like the two gentlemen across from him. Luffy and Chopper were the only two who were pleasant about it, both had ran up to her with huge smiles talking excitedly that she'd chosen to play with them rather than the girls.

"You are gonna play with us right Spider?" Luffy looked up at her giving her his best puppy dog eyes. Chopper quickly following suit and tugging at her leg.

Now Spider wasn't about to blush and cover herself out of embarrassment because of this mistake. Instead, she owned it and acted as if that was her intention this entire time. _'And they'll never know a damn thing.'_ She reached down and picked up Chopper placing him on her shoulders eliciting a laugh from the little reindeer. "Wouldn't miss this for the world." She replied easily causing a beaming grin from Luffy before he jumped back and stretched his arm along the length of the baths and sent a wave of water crashing into Spider and Chopper.

Thoroughly soaked Spider balanced Chopper as the little guy shook the water away and levelled a smile at Luffy. "So that's how you want to play it?" She asked as the water at either side of her rose to her waist twisting and shaping itself until after a second or two twin water dragons were stalking towards their prey. Luffy's smile had dropped for a second but returned when he was suddenly being chased around by Spider's creations, whenever he was crashed into by one of the dragons splashing water everywhere another would form elsewhere to replace it. Usopp even managed to get up the courage to join in once he saw the fun his friends were having.

Eventually they eased out of the chasing game after a few close calls with Zoro almost being barrelled into. Luffy, Chopper and Usopp satisfied themselves by playing in their own section of the baths with smaller versions of the water dragons that ran across the water around the boys. Spider herself decided to slide next to Sanji who looked noticeably paler, getting more so the closer she got to him.

"I know I'm scary in the armour but am I that bad out of it too?" She joked trying to relieve whatever tension he was feeling.

The blonde looked as if he was about to die right then as he gasped not having noticed exactly how close she was to him. "NO! Who could call you scary your the most beautiful one in here my dear!" Sanji's voice was several octaves higher and the hearts had returned to his eyes.

"Would you like some advise _mal sil_?" (little heart) She asked politely and received vigorous nodding in response from the chef. "Your words are sweet, but it would help if you weren't a mess when you say them." Sanji comically deflated after she spoke and started mumbling incoherently. Spider sighed before reluctantly adding a last comment. "Even if it is a cute mess."

Immediately the man's mood improved and the rest of their time was spent having Sanji sing her praises and her returning the favour in a playful manner. They both knew that secretly the other needed this. Spider knew that as much as he put on a confident face the constant rejection from Nami and every other woman he met frayed his ego and hurt more than the blonde let on. Just as Sanji knew that Spider might seem like a monster to most with how brutal she acts towards her opponents and slowly she'd lost herself in that belief, him showering her with compliments reminds her that's not all she is.

* * *

It was time to leave a day later when Spider was warned by her new informant that Marine HQ had sent a vice admiral along with another captain to capture the Straw Hats. Preparations were easy enough but goodbyes were difficult. Vivi had decided to stay to help her country heal from the wounds Crocodile's coup de tat had left on it, but accepted Luffy's offer of becoming an honorary Straw Hat. Spider had even gotten a private word before setting off, taking her aside she'd reminded Vivi about the mark she'd left on the princess and assured the girl that no matter their differences, if she were in danger she'd be there in a flash. Vivi had no words for the Dovahkiin, she only reached up and hugged the woman and after a moment of surprise returned it.

Now the crew was back on the Going Merry which Spider had managed to get moved to the other side of Alabasta in order to avoid travelling back across the desert and losing time to escape. She wasn't overly worried about the forces that had been sent to apprehend them but it would be much easier for her sanity if she could avoid leaving a body count when her captain had told her to show restraint.

Back on shore Vivi was waving goodbye to her friends dressed in a lavish piece of attire that she had chosen to wear for her speech to the people of Alabasta later on in the day. Everyone waved back until the distance between them became too much to fully distinguish her figure from the island itself.

Spider knew there was another person on board, a familiar person but didn't want to voice it until they were ready to reveal themselves and doubting that she meant any harm for the moment. Though all thought of the raven haired fugitive was lost when marine ships were spotted by Usopp heading straight for them. Five large ships that were connected by heavy chains and were being steered with the intent to trap them.

Naturally Usopp's first instinct was to panic while the rest of the crew got into position ready to defend themselves but Spider was more concerned than she'd thought she would be. The presence of the Vice Admiral was noticeable alongside the captain Smoker had warned her about, though the man wasn't there himself probably finding some excuse to stay on the island. Still it didn't change the fact that this man was at least five times stronger than Crocodile in terms of physical power and she could only assume he was intelligent, at least enough to maintain such a rank in the marines.

Spider approached her captain with a wary expression and once he noticed Luffy had asked her what was wrong. "What's that look for? We took down Crocodile and his crew, these guys should be no problem." He told her confidently and was backed up by Zoro and Sanji's affirmation.

Spider's look didn't waver as she looked from Luffy to the fast approaching marine vessels. "Do you trust me?" She asked looking back to her captain. Luffy nodded to her, his gaze not leaving hers. "It took everything including a little help from me for you to defeat crocodile, I can feel that this marine is far stronger than the warlord and if you go against him... He'll kill you."

Luffy's expression didn't change. "No he won't."

"Luffy-" Spider started but her captain held up a hand to get her to stop.

"He can't kill me because I have you to protect us until we're strong enough to take on people like him by ourselves." He told her.

It took a moment but Spider let a grin spread across her features. "Then with your permission captain, I'd like to ensure you make a clean escape and meet up with you later." As if to punctuate her point a cannon ball splashed into the sea dangerously close the Merry.

"You got it. OH! And bring me back a marine coat, I've always wanted one!" He ordered.

"Yes captain." She said flashing a smile to the crew as purple flames swirled around her until she was covered from view and vanished once they died down. Reappearing on the centre marine ship in full daedric armour Spider was immediately surrounded by soldiers pointing swords at her, nearer the back of the ship was the pink haired captain and the vice admiral whose face was half that of a Dalmatian along with certain other aspects of his body.

Spider wasted no time, drawing her wicked blade and cutting down all who charged at her, limbs were severed and bodies dropped making the floor slick with their blood, eventually it was difficult for the marines to move around either tripping over a dead or dying comrade or slipping over the viscera. Eventually marines from the other ships were flooding onto the centre ship in order to build up their numbers again. Those that weren't actively fighting Spider were moving the bodies of their fallen to the other ships in order to clear the battleground.

A fresh wave of troops appeared, the two high ranking officers still unwilling to join the fray, most likely confident they can overwhelm her with shear numbers. Spider was internally laughing at the assessment. _'I might not be known for crowd control but the only reason I haven't razed this entire fleet is because I need to make an example of you.'_ A sword strikes to her left and is met with her own, swiftly stepping close her sword met his throat pushing forward and spinning away Spider decapitated the marine, allowing the execution to flow into another attack on the marine nearby leaving a deep gash in his side.

Combat continued for another ten minutes or so and it only ended with a pile of corpses. Once the remaining marines on the ship got the hint that they were no match for the demonic warrior Captain Hina and Vice Admiral Dalmatian stepped up.

"You have one chance." Spider warned, her voice dangerously low. "Let my crew go."

"And what is the rookie crewmate of a no name captain going to do if we refuse? You're strong but my Haki is stronger." Dalmatian replied getting into a battle stance.

"Hina agrees." The pink haired female followed suit ready for a fight.

 _'The fuck is haki?'_ Spider pondered for a moment before shaking it off as some psuedo magic similar to a devil fruit. "Sorry Luffy, I tried." Spider whispered as she raised her weapon to the half dog man waiting for him to make a move.

"Soru!" He shouted and disappeared off to the left, Spider followed his movement as he closed the distance between them attempting to blindside her. Maybe it will fun to toy with him a little before killing him, show him just how futile this fight is. To the human eye Dalmatian reappeared next to Spider with his right hand coated in black, with a yell of "Shigan!" one clawed finger extended and jammed into Spider with enough force to cause a shockwave rocking the entire ship and sending the bodies of a few dead marines careening over the side, yet Spider remained unmoved.

Spider looked down at the Vice Admiral feeling a unstable smile growing yet it was hidden by the demonic helmet. Throwing her sword deep into the deck of the ship Spider turned and grabbed the man by his still blackened wrist applying enough pressure to crush his bones with a sickening crunch. The marine cried out in pain but Spider pulled him close and covered his mouth with her sword hand cutting off his voice. She leaned in close so that there was barely an inch between them.

"I've been killing people far stronger than you for over two thousand years." Accentuating her point Spider suddenly pierced Dalmatian's gut with his own Haki coated hand and pushed him away with the hand covering his mouth. The Vice Admiral soon tripped over the corpse of another marine as he tried to process what just happened.

Spider didn't have time to feel pride in her humiliation of the cocky man when behind her Hina levelled a sweeping kick at her legs creating iron chains with lock around her, though the captain didn't stop there. She'd kept swiping at the Dovahkiin until she was completely covered in the heavy shackles. Spider allowed the woman a moment to feel accomplished until she stole it away with a dark chuckle. Ripping her arms free with the snapping of metal Spider continued tearing it off with ease.

"Still agree with Vice Admiral 'my haki is stronger' over there?" Spider asked her mockingly only receiving a huff in response. The next kick that Hina sent towards Spider's head was blocked, seizing the opportunity Spider grabbed the captain's leg and pulled her close right into her forearm which connected to the pink haired woman's face with an audible crack. Hina was out cold on the deck of the ship.

Spider let out a "Tsch." As Hina had managed to land face down and would more than likely drown in the pooling blood of her comrades if left alone. Smoker had told Spider of his past with Hina and while he knew a fight was inevitable he'd asked Spider not to kill the pink haired woman if she could help it. So she found it in her to kneel down beside and roll the marine captain over onto her side, head held up by a severed arm as a makeshift pillow. _'I'm too nice sometimes.'_

Standing back up Spider scanned for the Vice Admiral and spotted him a little further towards the back of the ship. Walking up to his bleeding form Spider reached down and tore his hand out of his gut eliciting a loud grunt of pain. It appeared he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of a scream. Looking at his wound Spider summoned a ball of flame into her hand and pressed it into the cavity, this proved to be too much as Dalmatian broke out into a blood curdling cry of pain, his nerves burning themselves out in showing the distress his body was in. Once the bleeding stopped Spider placed her clawed gauntlet around the Vice Admiral's throat cutting off his cries, a deep chill filled his being at her touch as he stared fearfully into the soulless eyes of her daedric helm. Spider once again leaned closer allowing her aura to fill this wretch before her with despair.

"I won't kill you, when we're done I'll get you to do that all by yourself." As she spoke ethereal dragon wings spread from under her armour which distorted and cracked in the Vice Admirals vision until he saw what truly lay underneath. Yet he couldn't even scream.

* * *

The Straw Hats were concerned. Spider had been gone for five and a half days at this point and in that time there had been a number of developments. They had a new crewmate for one, Nico Robin was now their archaeologist and despite a rocky start everyone besides Zoro accepted her as part of the crew. They had also had a run in with a ship falling out of the sky, some scrappers that were run by a large intelligent monkey and were now going to Jaya in search of a way to get to sky island which they are positive exists because of a map they found on the ship that had fallen out of the sky. There was that whole thing where they ran away like absolute pussies from giant shadows in the clouds but every last one them made a pact to never share this information with Spider. Ever.

About a day's journey away from Jaya Spider _finally_ appeared back on the ship still in her daedric armour. In the middle of the night. Covered in gore. Right in front of a bleary eyed Chopper who had woken up and wanted to get a glass of water. The little reindeer was shaking, staring up the nightmare towering over him, tears flowing but his voice refused to work when he tried to scream.

Spider looked down at chopper and upon seeing the absolute terror in his eyes she took a step back and examined herself as if noticing how she looked for the first time before her gaze returned to Choppers tear stained face.

_'Shit'_

Immediately Spider burned away the blood and guts in a swirl of flames lighting up the night unintentionally making herself even more horrifying. She quickly tore off the armour throwing it haphazardly away, allowing the lower half to be stored in her inventory by purplish flames that transported it away. Replaced by her casual wear except for her form fitting under armour shirt.

Spider dove towards the little reindeer gathering him into a hug whispering apologies into his ear until she felt the tears stop and Chopper even started to return the hug so tightly she wasn't sure he'd ever let go. After a few minutes Spider pulled back and wiped a few stray tears that still persisted. She noticed he wasn't wearing his hat and as strange as it was Spider thought he looked adorable without it. Without a word she picked him up and stood while holding him close, heading in the direction she assumed he was going.

 _'He usually likes a drink whenever he can't sleep.'_ She remembered.

Opening the door to the girls quarters Spider headed inside and closed the door before heading towards her bed. Placing Chopper by the pillow and bringing a glass of some kind of exotic drink Sanji had made her weeks ago. (Thank the divines everything stays fresh in there). Chopper quietly accepted the drink and neither said anything until he finished it and placed the empty glass on the side table by the bed.

"We missed you." Chopper managed to say in a voice that told Spider his original fear still hadn't quite left him. "I thought... I thought something might have happened to you." He started crying again and Spider pulled him close to her side reassuring him that she was real as he buried his face into her shirt.

"I'm sorry mal kiir." She whispered, attempting to remain quiet for the sake of the other two women who were sleeping soundly. "Know that I'll never abandon you. No matter what stands in my way I'll always come back to you, all of you."

Chopper couldn't understand what her strange words were saying but somehow he was able to grasp the meaning behind them. She thought of him like a son. The revelation only made him cry harder but not because he was scared, no, he was happy. Sleep soon began to claw at Chopper however and he rubbed his eyes tiredly when Spider placed his head onto the pillow as she lay beside him allowing the little reindeer to nuzzle into her shoulder.

Smiled down at him and softly began to hum the start of a lullaby. (WARNING! Lyrics aren't pronounced like they usually are. Google the song, thank me later)

_"Lora lie lo."_

_"Lora lie lay, lay lo. lay lo lay lay."_

_"Lora lie lo."_

_"Lora lie lay, lay lo. lay lo lay lay."_

_"I'll fly for you my child, my son, sweet dreams to you my only one."_

_"I'll fly for you my child, my son, sweet dreams my only one."_

_"Lora lie lo."_

_"Lora lie lay, lay lo. lay lo lay lay."_

_"I'll fly for you my child, my son, sweet dreams to you my only one."_

_"I'll fly for you my child, my son, sweet dreams my only one."_

_"Lora lie lo."_

_"Lora lie lay, lay lo. lay lo lay lay."_

_"Lora lie lo."_

_"Lora lie lay, lay lo. lay lo lay lay."_

With the song finished Spider glanced down at a peaceful Chopper, still tucked firmly in between her neck and shoulder. She knew that if she moved it would wake him so instead she resigned herself to sleep as well. It wasn't something she did often but it was nice to escape the real world for a little while, so she settled into the pillow and kept her arm wrapped around Chopper's waist as she drifted away.

* * *

When She left the comforting abyss sleep had brought her Spider hadn't expected to wake up to most of the crew gathered around her staring. Just staring. She looked down and saw that Chopper was still asleep only fussing slightly at her movement when she returned her gaze to the crew.

Nami and Usopp were in front on her at the side of the bed, peering just a little too close for comfort. Luffy was behind her and she could tell Zoro was holding him back from doing something but she wasn't sure what. While Sanji was at the foot of the bed muttering jealously to himself and if Spider didn't have magically enhanced hearing she wouldn't have caught the whispers of "Lucky bastard." directed at Chopper no doubt. Robin however was not in the room, rather she was outside having poached the position Spider usually had reserved for her down time to read one her many books that Robin had found.

Eventually the suspense was killing her so she spoke. "What?" And in unison they jumped back as if she were about to bite them but soon calmed when she made no such move. "You want to explain why me sleeping is so interesting?"

"Well it wasn't weird at first because we were just happy to see you were alright but then I kinda accidentally got too excited and woke Chopper." Luffy started to explain and the others nodded along when needed. "Then Nami hit me for being too loud and When we tried to get Chopper out of bed you growled at us whenever we got close."

"I growled at you?" She asked not fully believing that she would do that in her sleep.

Nami interrupted whatever Luffy was going to say. "Yeah, then since we couldn't do anything about it Chopper went back to sleep about a half hour ago and we've been trying to keep Luffy from playing with you."

"I know I shouldn't ask but how exactly was the captain playing while I slept?"

A sheepish Luffy came into view joining Nami and Usopp in front of her. "Well you made a funny noise every time I got near Chopper so I just kept seeing how close I could get." He told her while laughing a little.

"You weren't laughing when she almost took your arm off." Sanji interjected.

"Hey that only happened once!" Luffy cried indignantly.

This somehow spiralled into an argument between Sanji and Zoro over if it would have happened again what with Zoro keeping watch over their captain. The noise eventually woke Chopper for the second time today and Spider released the young reindeer allowing him to wipe the sleep from his eyes and look around the room. "Why is everyone still here?"

"We've almost arrived at Jaya and we didn't want you two to miss out on the town." Usopp told him.

Accepting this Chopper hopped down and followed him outside along with most everyone else. The only two remaining were Spider and Zoro who started talking while the former made the bed.

"Not that the others would think to mention but we've got a new crew member." The way he said it made Spider think it left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Would it happen to be Crocodile's ex-second in command." She asked as she finished with the bed.

"Guess you can sense her on the ship huh?"

"Of course, I sympathise with her, from what little I know she's had as much tragedy happen to her as any of us." Spider told him.

Zoro was quiet for a minute except for a small "Tsch." He looked up "Do you trust her like the others do?"

"I don't have to." She told him gaining a confused look from the green haired swordsman. "It's not as if my life is in any danger and in the unlikely event she tries something against us... well I just defeated eight battleships worth of marines and a vice admiral, I'll let that speak for itself."

Zoro raised an eyebrow at that. "There were only five battleships when you left us, where'd you find the other three?"

"I might have taken slightly longer than was strictly necessary when dealing with the Vice Admiral. let's just say some people came looking when they really should have left it alone." Spider's eyes had an evil glint.

"No need to ask what you were taking your time with." Zoro returned the look.

"He called Luffy a no name captain and me a rookie." Spider defended. "I might not look my age but when you've been alive for as long as I have it's difficult not to get insulted when a cocky brat claims you don't know what your doing."

He barked out a laugh imagining the Vice Admiral's face when he realised exactly who he'd said that to. "I'll drink to that."

"Thought you'd never ask." Spider said as she pulled a bottle of sake from her inventory and tossed it to Zoro who caught it in one hand and took a swig. She'd stolen a few from the royal palace while she was there so that she'd be able to see if Zoro liked it. If he did then making duplicates magically would be easy but she didn't want to replicate just any sake, it had to be his favourite otherwise what was the point?

Zoro flashed her an appreciative smile as he passed her going to the door. "This is good stuff." He told her as she followed behind him. She noticed Nami and Luffy at the front of the ship commenting on the pirate ships in the harbour.

"Only the best for my favourite swordsman." Spider smiled back although he couldn't see it.

Zoro laughed heartily at that. "Your favourite swordsman huh? I can live with that." He told her before taking another drink.

Soon enough Spider was walking down the streets of Jaya with Luffy and Zoro under explicit instructions from Nami to NOT get into any trouble and to keep the two idiots (Nami's words) from causing any that would make them have to leave while she and Robin went shopping. Spider did what she could but apparently Luffy having his 'tough face' on was non-negotiable even with the offer of meat. But aside from a guy that fell off of his horse, some freak yelling about being the fighting champion from the top of a building (both of which were expertly avoided) and a less than pleasant visit to a hotel Spider didn't have to distract the two too much, matter of fact when the pirates at the hotel insulted the way they dressed it was Luffy and Zoro that pulled Spider away from the place. This did lead to her promising to buy them drinks at the saloon for helping her keep face with Nami.

So the three were sat at the bar getting served, though Spider was less interested in the drink and more into mumbling to herself about the situation. "I was an assassin for years. I could just drag them both into an alley one night and no one would ever know..."

"You're not planning to kill those guys after we saved you from failing your job right?" Zoro asked from the side as he finished his third drink.

"She'd never be able to prove it was me." She told him flatly.

Neither got chance to continue the conversation as a shouting match started up beside them between their captain and a very large man sat aside him. He was very tall and had a crooked nose, he was missing a few teeth too. A scruffy black beard adorned his face and his hair was long, thick and woolly underneath his bandana. To top it off this individual was hirsute across the rest of his body, or at least what was visible with his open shirt. Spider knew she should be aware of who this was but after a few moments gave up. He wasn't particularly strong so it's not like he was a real threat to her crew at the moment.

All Spider understood was that they were arguing over who could order the most food. and this culminated with Luffy aggressively ordering one hundred steaks before Spider spoke up.

"I suppose you plan on paying for those yourself captain?" She asked playfully.

Luffy span around in his seat looking betrayed. "But- but Spider he's being an ass!"

"And you expect me to pay for one hundred pieces of meat, when you know full well that I have twice that amount back on the ship?" Okay it was a lie, she had twice that amount in her inventory from that dinosaur back on little garden but she wasn't about to say that and look like a weirdo in front of everyone in the saloon.

"It's the principle!" Luffy tried in a last ditch attempt.

"I'm surprised you even know what that is." She told him with a straight face causing Luffy to deflate and mutter about never sending her away to protect the crew again if she always gonna be this mean when she gets back. This only made her smile at his behaviour and resolve to give him that marine coat he'd asked for later to make him feel better.

"You gonna let your cabin girl do all your talking shrimp?" The man Luffy was arguing with mocked.

"HEY SHUT IT YOU FAT HAIRY APE!" Luffy responded after whipping back around to face him and half stood on the counter to gain enough height to look him in the eyes.

"ENOUGH!" The bartender interrupted and slammed a package on the table. "Here's your fifty cherry pies, please just walk away!" To Spider's surprise the guy did just that after accepting the package and it wasn't until he was out the small swinging doors that she commented again.

"No fucking way."

"What is it now?" The bartender asked after moving over to her.

"I've seen the size of those pies and you just gave him a bag that would barely fit two of them, told him it contained fifty and he didn't doubt you for a second." Spider was for lack of a better term. Amazed.

"I was pretty impressive back there wasn't I?" He said allowing a smug smile to grace his features.

"Sir, I would like to buy you dinner." She told him.

He laughed at that. "I'm sorry but I'm a married man, even in this town that means something."

Spider pulled out a bag of gold coins, realising they were probably worth this entire tavern but didn't care. "Then you can consider date night on me." She told him firmly.

The man was clearly surprised and thanked her but it was cut short when someone else entered the saloon. The man was tall, blonde, clean shaven and wore a blue admiral style marine coat. "I'm looking for a pirate who wears a straw hat." He announced to the room.

Spider's eyes slid over to her captain. _'Gee, I wonder who that could be.'_

The guy stepped towards her captain and there were whispers of 'that's Bellamy' being thrown around as he passed. "So your the one worth a cool fifty million berries." Bellamy took the free seat beside Luffy and ordered them both a drink and not so long after that the rest of his crew walked through the door. They threatened and bullied everyone out of their seats while insulting the saloon itself saying it was cheap and smelled of vomit.

Spider bristled when she recognised the two from the hotel, the guy with weird glasses and large fluffy coat along with who she assumed was his whore of a girlfriend. _'If Nami doesn't find out about it killing them is fine right? Right?'_ She stopped glaring when she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to see it was Zoro's, she looked into his eyes and they both had a silent conversation before she turned around and went back to nursing her drink. _'He's right, I can't let her win. I'll kill them when Nami won't be mad about it.'_

"Hey thanks for the drink pal!" Luffy smiled up at the blonde. "You know what, you're alright." He said before starting to down the entire thing.

Spider saw it happening. The hostility in his aura was unmistakable when he first entered but she was content to let it be, Luffy was stronger than him by a long shot so if a fight were to happen she needn't worry, and yet it was another thing altogether to see Bellamy move to attack her captain. Spider was about to stop him but froze, her mind going a million miles a minute. _'Luffy still wants me to show restraint, and I'll never be able to stop once I start so we'll definitely have to leave town.'_ Sigh. _'We came here for information and I'll have to try and get it before I drag these two out of here.'_

Spider lowered herself back into her seat and covered the top of her glass with her hand when seconds later Luffy's head was put through the wooden counter sending splintered shrapnel in every direction. Around the saloon there were shocked gasps aside from the guy the fluffy coat that burst out laughing shouting. "Brilliant move Bellamy! Just Brilliant!" In between his laughs.

_'Maybe I can make an exception for this one. I'm sure Nami would understand, I did it for the greater good.'_

Zoro had a sword drawn and levelled at the enemy captain's throat in a second causing Bellamy to look up and say. "What are you doing, punk?" And this lead to a pointless conversation Spider purposefully ignored as she waved over the bartender though it was difficult to pry his attention away from what was happening. From the corner of her eye Spider saw Luffy get up and start speaking and it vaguely sounded like he challenged the guy to a fight eliciting cheers from the tavern mixed with comments of 'this kid is so dead.'

Having had enough Spider resorted to just shouting her question to the bartender. "HEY! We were here trying to find out about a sky island and how to get there, can you tell me anything before the fight breaks out?" She asked him and to her surprise the entire room went silent. _'Usually I have to use magic or dovahzul to get a room this quiet...'_

But as fast as it happened the silence evaporated into fits of laughter ringing throughout the tavern with some ever falling off of their seats at what she'd said and she couldn't help but think to herself. _'Well Spider, you did it. You survived your parents naming you after the discovery of the dwemmer spider factory in cyrodil at the time you were born, you survived that stupid dragonborn prophesy and killed a god, then a daedric prince. Hell you even survived another two thousand years of trying to kill yourself and now you're finally here, being laughed at by drunk pirates who haven't done anything remotely as impressive as you have and apparently to them you're the biggest idiot on the face of this world. Yep, living the dream.'_

Bellamy was the first to calm and he started to explain about the knock up stream which catapults ships high into the sky only for them to come crashing down, this led early sailors to believe that there must have been an island up there. Somehow he got onto the topic of dreams. "-I was going to ask you to join my crew but you've already failed the test of the new era, it seems you're a lost cause. Thing is the times of pirates dreams are over, the city of gold, the emerald ruins and the great One Piece! The fools who dream of these fictional treasures don't notice the real treasures that surround them! In this age of oceans the very men who are brave enough and capable of navigation currents end up chasing these ridiculous dreams and die in the process." Bellamy failed to notice the shadow passing over Luffy's eyes from his straw hat. "Whenever people speak of these dead idiots they always say 'he was happy because he died living his dreams, HAH! No he died because he was a fool." Bellamy rose. "So when I see people chasing dreams of Once Piece," He charged Luffy and slugged him with a right hook. "I GET DISGUSTED!" This left Luffy on the floor staring up and unmoving. "You're a weak pirate and as long as you continue walking around you'll make us, the real pirate's look like trash." He emphasised his point by smashing Luffy's forgotten glass on the ground just to the side of his head.

Spider was equal parts enraged and intrigued. Her captain was the last person she would call a coward and yet he wasn't moving to fight the enemy captain even as the rest of his crew started throwing plates and bottles at him. Instead he stood and turned to both her and Zoro. "No matter what happens, don't fight back"

Spider took a moment. And then another. "Excuse me?"

Standing from her seat Spider helped Luffy up off of the floor and awaited his response. "Don't touch them, that's an order." He told her with a serious tone she'd rarely heard from him before. She wanted to argue, hell she wanted to flat out ignore him and cut Bellamy's throat right here and now. But she couldn't disobey an order. Not one from him.

What in oblivion is it about him that affects her? His smile ignites a protective fire in her, his attitude to life opens her eyes to how she used to be. And when he told her to do something, someone with strength equal to gods, listens and feels compelled to do it. Scary as it was she didn't think she'd be able to give it up. _'Fuck it, he'll die of old age eventually and with him this damn compulsion, I can handle it, if only because he's Luffy._ But all loyalty is tested eventually.

Silently she stepped in line with Zoro and Luffy as Bellamy and his second paced in front of them. Taunting them. The first punch thrown at Zoro and Luffy were difficult to stand through and Spider could feel the growl resonate in her throat yet it seemed to do nothing but encourage the two while they laughed. Sarquiss, the one in the fluffy coat eventually stopped ignoring her on purpose stood in front of her, right up in her personal space.

"Such a pretty face with these low lives, it's hard to think someone like you would be stupid enough to have those dreams. He grabbed her shirt and pulled himself closer to her face until she could feel his horrid breath over her lips. At her side she could feel Zoro ready to break orders and rip him apart, even Luffy was struggling to stand by. Bellamy watched in interest as Sarquiss continued. "I could show you what a real pirate crew can do." He told her through a too wide grin, suddenly he lunged forward, his tongue sticking out and fully intending to drag it across her luscious lips.

Only he never got the chance. When Sarquiss was practically milometers from making contact, Spider's eyes flashed a dangerous bright green and her eyes formed draconic slits. In an explosion of blood and bone the body in front of the Dovahkiin was completely eviscerated and painting the pirates, the walls and even the ceiling with what was once a person in an outward radius so she had none of it on her.

Spider's hands were balled into fists at her sides as the tavern remained deathly quiet. Without a word she moved forward towards the exit.

"Spider wait!" Luffy called after and she stopped but didn't turn, already aware of the regret she'd find in his eyes.

"I didn't _touch_ him." She told him before resuming on her way to the exit, ripping the small swinging door on the left off of the door rather than pushing it open and threw it behind her hearing it crash and splinter somewhere in saloon wall.

Outside she didn't get very far because sat in the middle of the street was the hirsute man Luffy had been arguing with earlier and she got close he started laughing while looking at her. "Zahahahaha, I knew out of the three, it would be you who couldn't win! Even in a fight of principle, you just couldn't stop yourse-"

His world turned black.


	5. All Knocked Up

It took the crew hours of searching the town, the surrounding woodland and Chopper's excellent nose to find where Spider had ended up. They'd all been worried when Luffy and Zoro returned to the ship looking bruised and bloody searching for her. No one missed the panicked look in Luffy's eyes when Nami told him Spider hadn't come back to the ship but both he and Zoro refused to give her or anyone details on what exactly happened while they were out. Not even Sanji's threat of not feeding them could sway Luffy to tell him.

This had led to an uneasy tension between the two and the rest of the crew and a few arguments had sprang up about what they did to make her go AWOL so suddenly. Usopp and Chopper were mostly confused but knew whatever happened wasn't good, while Nami had given the boys the cold shoulder along with occasional bouts of yelling. Sanji was furious and the only thing that stopped him from pushing for a fight over the matter was the more pressing issue of finding his darling crew member. Robin however was only focused on the task at hand and didn't raise issue with whatever Luffy and Zoro did to get them into this situation.

She was standing in a small clearing in the woods to the north of Mock Town. Scattered around her were broken weapons and strange armour none of them had ever seen before but none of it was made of daedric metal, the only thing that was had been her signature demonic helm placed on a fallen tree staring lifelessly ahead of it as she stared back.

Spider hadn't turned around to greet them when the crew bar Zoro and Usopp entered the clearing. Those two had stayed behind to guard the ship. Approaching from behind they made sure to keep a little distance under Luffy's orders, carefully stepping around the broken equipment. Once they'd all stopped Spider took a deep breath and sighed. Moving away from them towards the daedric helmet she picked it up in one hand and stored it away, safely back in her inventory as she turned to her crew.

Luffy stood at the front while the others grouped up slightly behind him. Spider frowned at the way they were looking at her, as if they weren't sure how to act, her priority however was her captain, the boy had removed his straw hat and held it by the top at his side, his eyes downcast as if he couldn't bring himself to look at her.

Spider walked closer and her hand travelled to the Luffy's one that held his treasure, gently taking it from him yet he still didn't look at her until she ruffled his hair and placed it back on his head with a smile. Obsidian eyes found hers and held more than a little confusion. "You're not angry?" He asked quietly.

"Never at you." She replied. Looking up and past Luffy towards the others Spider noticed a mixture of relief and nervousness from everyone. "All of you came searching for me?"

Everyone nodded and it was Sanji that spoke first. "The only reason Zoro and Usopp are back guarding the ship is because they drew the short straws. If we weren't in a town full of pirates they'd be here too."

"Then we had better return to the ship, if I know those two then Zoro will be killing himself with excessive 'training' and Usopp will drive himself mad with worry." She smiled again as the crew agreed turning to lead the way. On the way Spider was curious as to how long she'd been gone for, it wasn't uncommon for her to lose track of time after things like this. In fact more often than not she would manage to lose days and return to the world not knowing what she had done. Honestly the last thing Spider remembered was saying _"I didn't_ touch _him"_ but then there was nothing until she was staring at her helmet surrounded by broken weapons.

Ripping her attention away from her thoughts Sanji appeared beside her. "What happened to make you leave all of a sudden? Those two idiots wouldn't tell us anything no matter how many times we asked or how pissed we got."

Glancing at the chef Spider saw Luffy stiffen slightly before his shoulders sank out of the corner of her eye. Though everyone else was turned towards them interested in hearing her answer. "What happened is staying between me, Luffy and Zoro. I've forgiven them and that's all that matters so I would appreciate it if you all didn't ask again."

With reluctant nods the topic dropped.

* * *

***Somewhere Nearby***

Marshal D. Teach awoke to several birds pecking at his head making him suddenly jerk himself up into a sitting position, holding his throbbing head in his hands. He couldn't think straight and whatever happened to him must have been bad because he felt like his body had been put through a tenderiser and back again. Looking down at his clothes there was a dried red substance stuck to them though he couldn't be sure that it was blood.

The last thing he saw was... the cabin girl! she'd ripped one of the little doors from the saloon off the frame and threw it away when he'd laughed at her for... something. He remembered that he had started talking but she never let him finish when her hand turned black and connected with his face.

Eventually managing to make himself stand he started walking in the direction he thought Mock Town was located. It was time to gather the crew and show this girl just she was messing with he thought to himself with a crooked smile.

* * *

Conversation on the way back was tense and Luffy had remained quiet the entire time. When they made it onto the ship the sun was setting and the crew decided to retire early that night with Spider staying on watch, sleep being optional and all for her. For the most part it was a quiet night as she watched Mock town from the portside railing until she heard the trapdoor leading to the men's quarters open revealing a green haired swordsman. Zoro gently closed the door so he wouldn't wake the others and joined Spider in watching the little activity left in the pirate haven.

"We shouldn't have let it go that far." He said after a while.

"Don't do that." She responded pulling out another bottle of sake from Alabasta and placing it on the railing in front oh him. Zoro took the hesitantly but turned to her for further explanation. "I know you and Luffy aren't going to forgive yourselves any time soon, but it's useless to get your head stuck in the nightmare of 'what if.'" She turned to him now granting her full attention. "Besides, old big knife isn't laughing so much anymore."

"Considering you killed him I'd be surprised if he was up to anything these days." Zoro returned humourlessly.

Spider smirked. "Remember when I told you about how I can take human souls too?" She asked and Zoro's expression fell before he too returned the grin. "He's definitely not laughing now."

"Still I don't envy having him be a part of you forever."

"It's not so bad, he's the one having his soul torn apart over and over again." She said while shrugging.

"And it just repairs itself?" Zoro inquired.

"Souls are eternal unless I destroy them by forging something or recharging an enchantment with them, so he'll be in my own version of hell." She told him as she accepted the drink he offered and took a swig before handing it back. "Though he held some troubling information, Bellamy is working under Doflamingo's flag so it's unlikely we'll get away with killing one of his crew should we ever meet him."

"I'm not worried, even if he gets pissed it's not like he'll be able to kill any of us with you around." Zoro shot her a comfortable smile that she returned.

The conversation turned to more pleasant things after that such as how they were going to get to Sky island now that they were out of leads. Zoro told her that Nami and Robin had found out about a man who might know something and he lives on the other side of the island so that's where they'd be heading come morning.

When that time came it was a simple matter to steer the ship around to the guy's house which looked to have been cut in half to Spider and a massive cut out of a house was stuck to the side facing the ocean. Luckily the crew caught the owner before he went diving and after a small misunderstanding about exactly what they were here for they managed to get sat down with the man they now knew as Montblanc Cricket. He explained some specifics about the knock up stream Spider had heard Bellamy talk about and a heavy cloud that strange shadows could be seen inside. Though the crew became suspiciously quiet when he asked if they'd seen it on their way here and Luffy had even done his 'innocent whistle.' You know, the one he does when he's hiding something...

Either way Spider involved herself as much as she could in convincing Montblanc Cricket and his two... foster sons? That had shown up to help them use a knock up stream in order to reach the sky island in the cloud. The two that had joined Cricket were essentially large monkeys and whilst Spider had to diffuse yet another misunderstanding it was resolved and they even agreed to work on improving the Going Merry so that it could better ride the knock up stream.

Just one problem remained at the end of the day. "You guys are going to need a South Bird." Cricket told them. "They've been used by sailors for hundreds of years so that they can get their bearings on the grand line, without one you'll never be able to sail your ship directly south and into the knock up stream below where the cloud will appear tomorrow."

"That doesn't sound too difficult." Robin spoke up.

"Yeah we could make it a competition!" Luffy yelled out having regained some of his usual excitement.

"Alright but what are we playing for? There's no point in a competition if we don't win anything." Usopp argued.

There were several murmurs of agreement until Spider offered something. "I could give the winner a prize, I still have a few artefacts some of you might like and if not I can always make something."

With this idea in mind it motivated them to get going While Spider stayed behind with Cricket and the monkeys, Masira and Shoujou. They weren't particularly stimulating conversation but she was thankful towards them for spending their time upgrading the Going Merry even after her crew had had some incidents regarding Masira. They were just outside of Cricket's home when they heard sounds of people approaching though immediately Spider could sense it wasn't her crew, and it made her skin crawl knowing who was getting closer.

Five of them appeared out of the tree line and Spider disappeared in a flash on dark bluish light surprising the three she was next to. Without wasting time she stalked around the group while Bellamy started talking. _'When will they learn that I don't have to stop just because they start talking?'_ She thought while selecting her target. The man was wearing a orange suit following just a little too far behind his friends, giving her the perfect opportunity to strike.

With great care Spider drew a daedric dagger from her sheath and stealthily crept behind him, her hand covered his mouth to silence his cry of surprise as she pierced his heart with the blade. Waiting until he was gone she swiftly dragged him away out of sight. She repeated this pattern with several other pirates while Bellamy was _still_ talking. Now there was only the captain himself, Sarquiss's whore, and another man in a black shirt threatening Cricket while their allies were being raised. Thinking that was enough for now Spider took position a few feet in front of Bellamy as he finished his rant.

"-Let tell you what they call me before I take everything from you, THE HYENA!" He shouted laughing madly.

 _'Knowing he's working under Doflamingo will make it easier to take the warlord out when the time comes.'_ Spider thought to herself.

Spider chose that moment to cut off her invisibility spell and reappeared in front of him effectively silencing his chortles. "Would you like to know what they call me?" She asked stepping closer to him and he inexplicably fell back a few steps along with what remained of his raid party. Behind them figures started moving from the forest, their low moans drawing the attention of the other two. The woman screamed as her allies entered into the light with gaping chest wounds still bleeding, their eyes glowing a dull blue as they drew their weapons. "Here's a hint, it's not very nice."

Bellamy looked around in a panic as his own crew surrounded him with lifeless stares that sent shivers down his spine. "What have you done to them you bitch?!" He shouted as his shins turned into springs, preparing to attack.

Spider smiled at him. "Not quite, it's more along the lines of vampires, ghouls and wraiths." She got closer, paralysing them with her growing aura. "Creatures that appear in your nightmares to tear out your heart." Spider shoved Bellamy to the ground, reaching past him she grabbed the woman at his side and threw her back towards Cricket and the monkeys. "Run back to your master with your tail between your legs, unless she's worth both your lives."

She needn't have said more as the black shirted crew member turned and sprinted away bursting past his undead friends soon followed by Bellamy himself with a healthy dose of magically induced fear, though he was plenty scared without it Spider was feeling a little vindictive.

Turning back the woman was cowering on the ground while Cricket and his crew held a weary distance from her. "You- you can't kill me." She managed to choke out grabbing Spider's attention. "We wo-work for a powerful pirate. HE'S A WARLORD SO YOU HAVE TO LET ME GO!"

Unable to help herself Spider started laughing as she dragged woman back to her feet and pulling her close. "I'm not going to kill you. In fact, you're free to go." She told the terrified woman. She looked between Spider and the undead pirates unsure if it was a trick until a wave of Spider's hand dismissed the spell and turned the corpses to dust. As soon as she thought it was safe the girl bolted across to the tree line where her captain and crew mate had retreated. Spider watched with disinterest as she reached the half way mark, raising her hand in front of her Spider conjured a ball of flame and blew it towards the fleeing figure as if she were blowing a kiss. It gave chase burning her heels as she neared her goal before exploding sending her crashing though the undergrowth, likely with severe burns to her back on top of a broken bone or two.

"I thought you said you weren't going to kill her." Masira said confused when Spider sat back down by the fire. He couldn't find it in him to feel too bad for the pirates since they were here to steal Cricket's gold and with Bellamy being the most feared pirate in Mock Town he couldn't have been sure they'd win the fight without Spider's help but it still didn't seem right what she did.

"She'll live." She told him refusing to elaborate.

"But-" He was cut off by a hand on his shoulder seeing it was Cricket shaking his head telling him to let it go. She'd helped them out of a tricky situation, best not to question her actions.

Not long afterwards Spider's crew returned, everyone looked slightly disappointed except Robin who had a strange looking bird in her hands and was sporting a half smile as she got closer. "So, what do I win?"

* * *

 _'Let's go to sky island, they said. It'll be fun, they said. LIKE HELL IT IS!'_ Spider mentally screamed her dismay as she caught yet another crew mate from falling thousands of meters below back into the blue seas of the grand line.

Everything had gone smoothly after they returned with the south bird and everyone had even enjoyed the rest of the night with a small celebration for the next part of their voyage. There was one incident where pained groans were just audible from the forest but they were quickly ignored when Spider told them not to ask. Not even Luffy's curiosity tore him away from them to have a look.

They'd set sail early in the morning and with the help of Masira and Shoujou the Going Merry was steered directly towards the knock up streams predicted location. The only hiccup being a rather strange looking ship that was nothing more than a raft made from giant logs sailing towards them with a familiar figure on board. His clothes still stained red from his earlier encounter with what he now knew was the remains of his cherry pies.

"Give us the girl and maybe I'll be generous enough to let you go!" The pirate yelled as he closed in behind the three ships. Those of the crew who weren't preparing the Merry for the knock up stream gathered at the back to get a better look at their new stalker. Spider herself scanned them with a critical eye recognising a few of them from Jaya aside from the captain himself, she remembered the 'fighting champion' as well as the sickly guy on the horse. Then a few others on the ship were visible but she didn't pay much attention, focusing mainly on the big guy and wondering why he was here. Surely his argument with Luffy wasn't that bad. But then he asked for 'the girl' and he'd only ever seen Spider with this crew...

"Do we have time for this?" Spider asked Zoro who'd taken up position at her side but only received a shrug.

"We'll hit the knock up stream any minute now! Get rid of them!" Nami half yelled behind her as she corrected the Merry's course.

Seeing an opportunity to show off a little Spider smirked and held out her hand allowing her magic to flow into the ocean. Moments later a wall of water rose in front of Blackbeard's ship blocking their path and pushing them back as it climbed higher. Not finished yet however, Spider managed to create lightening spark inside of her artificial wave in a spectacular show of beauty and power before sending the whole thing crashing down onto the enemy ship. There were some cries coming from them but once the waters settled there was no sign of them. "That settles that issue." _'For now.'_ She mentally added having sensed they were still breathing. Mostly.

"You're scary sometimes." Chopper's voice sounded from below to her right.

"I have a good reason to be." She replied patting the top of his hat affectionately.

"Why's that?"

"Next time we see a marine I'll show you." Spider told him as she thought back to her little message to the World Government's private military. _'Might have been a little drastic but I stand by it.'_ She thought when their companion ships had to release the Straw Hats to the mercy of the whirlpool that preceded the knock up stream. This series of events led to Spider's current situation, at first the shift from horizontal to vertical wasn't so bad. Then Usopp managed to slip and Luffy couldn't reach him in time so naturally Spider stepped in and pulled the sniper to safety, only to then have to race towards Chopper who got his head stuck in the railing and started to choke. When those two were dealt with, with a little magical assistance Spider had walked further up the ship after spying Luffy climbing towards the figure head, somewhere deep down she could _feel_ the slip up he was bound to make and when it happened she was there, catching him in a nick of time.

Luffy looked up to see who caught him and to her pleasant surprise the boy was only slightly hesitant with his smile before he thanked her for saving him. Without a word Spider nodded and threw him back to where he was heading, inwardly cheering when he got over the shock of being flung away and landed on his special seat.

What was truly special however was that it was at this moment Spider realised just how exceptional Nami truly was as a navigator. Using her expertise Nami had explained how the knock up stream was essentially an upward current, just wind and water packaged a little differently than they would usually see. With this she gave orders to Spider, Zoro and Sanji telling them to use full sail and spread the wings Masira and Shoujou's crew had helped install, with this the Merry was able to use the power of the wind to travel further and faster up the stream propelling them towards their goal.

It wasn't long until the Going Merry burst through the clouds and shot up higher and higher until eventually the ship levelled out floating on a sea of white. It was a beautiful scene to behold, unfortunately Spider was the only one looking. Sometime between leaving the knock up stream and bursting out of the clouds her crew had dropped to the floor struggling for breath and more than a little damp.

"What's wrong with you guys?" She asked curiously.

"Can't... breathe... air... too thin." Luffy gasped out from near the front of the ship, gaining some groans of agreement from the others.

Spider chuckled. "You mortals and your need to breathe. It's adorable."

"You were like us once too, show some sympathy." Zoro called out as he tried to sit up, his chest heaving.

"You try having the abilities of a god. At least you get to be challenged, all I get is a two second inconvenience."

Nami slowly crawled her way towards Spider and reached for her hand, once helped up the navigator leaned on the Dovahkiin for a second before speaking. "Sometimes... I really hate you."

"Even if I were to give you some more of my gold." Spider smiled at her.

This caused a serious expression to cross her friend's face as she calculated the offer. "Depends how much you give me."

Before she could respond Chopper's strangled cry stole everyone's attention as the reindeer started making erratic gestures and pointing over the starboard side of the ship. Looking in that direction revealed a fast approaching half dressed man on what Spider could only equate to ice skates. He wore a flat wooden tribal mask with horns and carried a bazooka in one hand, a shield in the other. By this point everyone was standing though still unstable as the man managed to jump several meters in the air.

"What do you want!" Sanji asked as he readied himself for a fight.

Without missing a beat the man charged towards Sanji, propelled by his weird cloud skates. "TO DESTROY YOU!"

"Oh is that all?" Sanji replied sarcastically, preparing to fly kick the intruder away but was savagely shoulder charged into the wall.

Zoro attempted to draw his swords only to receive a kick to the jaw sending the green haired fighter sprawling to the floor. Flawlessly the tribal warrior kicked off of the ground and spun in the air before delivering a downward blow to their captain.

To Spider's surprise none of them got back up, remaining floored by the man's relentless attacks. "Bless them, they try." Spider spoke fondly as she approached the masked warrior. Reacting to her presence the man whipped around levelling his weapon in her face only to have it ripped from his grasp dislocating a few fingers in the process. Spider tore the weapon in half throwing the piece in her left hand away before brutally smacking the other in the warriors face, smashing the lower half of his mask to pieces and leaving a deep gash in his jaw from the jagged metal of his ruined bazooka.

He hit the floor hard but the adrenaline ensured he returned to his feet moments later prepared to strike at his opponent. The second charged however Spider smiled darkly and whispered a single word. _**"Fus!"**_ The word of power sent him flying through the railing of the ship and far across the sea of clouds until he was enveloped by them. Unfortunately the floorboards cracked under the force of the shout too making this section of the Merry look positively ruined. "This ship's on it's last legs..." She mumbled to herself readying a restoration spell to cover the wounded vessel's injuries. It looked back to normal when she'd finished but Spider knew it was only temporary, one more spell and the entire thing would disintegrate from the stress.

"Who the hell was that guy?" Nami asked then turned to the three who had their asses handed to them. "And you, could you guys be anymore worthless back there? If it wasn't for Spider we'd be blown to pieces."

Luffy was the first to say something though it wasn't in direct response. "Can't move... It's too hard to breathe."

"It must be because of the thin air up here, you'll be weaker until you adapt to the change." Robin helpfully added as a squawking noise sounded above them.

In the sky an older man in steel armour rode on a pink poka dotted horse with wings. Spider hesitated to call it a Pegasus since the creature didn't appear to be natural at all. He guided his steed to the deck of the ship and dismounted looking around a little confused, giving his pure white beard a quick stroke. "Where is the guerrilla fighter? I heard him attacking ships just a few minutes ago and came as soon as I could."

Most of the crew just stared at him dumbfounded. "He's... unavailable at the moment. But who are you?" Nami asked him.

"My apologies, I am the Sky Knight and this is Pierre." He gestured to the pink winged horse. He noticed Sanji, Luffy and Zoro complaining about feeling weak again before saying something. "You must be blue sea dwellers."

"What's that?" Nami inquired.

"It's what we call those who live beneath the clouds, you have reached the white sea seven thousand meters above the blue sea, the white-white sea where I assume your heading is ten thousand meters in the air, ordinary blue sea people can't possibly endure it here." He told then as he leaned back on the Merry's portside railing.

Luffy, Sanji and Zoro swiftly proved that factoid wrong. "You know what," Luffy hit his chest a few times. "I think I've gotten used to it."

"Yeah I actually feel much better already." Zoro added.

"No no no, that's just not possible." The Sky Knight objected.

"And yet it's happening." Spider spoke as if it was of little consequence. "Care to explain how we can get to the white-white sea you were talking about earlier? I doubt we'll find another knock up stream up here."

The man's eyes widened in shock. "You brave souls rode that monstrous current to get here!? I didn't think anyone was left in the world that would take such an all or nothing risk."

 _'It hardly a risk, if anything happened I would've just teleported us up here.'_ Spider thought to herself but decided not to mention it given how some people *cough* Nami *cough* were likely to blow a gasket at the fact there was another, less life threatening option on the table. "You didn't answer my question." And at this point if he rambled again she was just going force her consciousness on his and search his mind for directions much like she'd done with Robin not so long ago.

"Oh, right. Heaven's gat should be about a half hour in that direction." He pointed towards a particularly interesting sight. "Right in front of the water fall made of clouds."

"Okay cool, thanks old knight guy." Luffy told him before bugging Nami to set sail towards it.

"Wait, usually I would charge five million Extol but," He pulled out a whistle and tossed it to the closest person which happened to be Luffy. "If you're in danger then simply blow on this whistle and I'll come to your aid." He told them before mounting his weird winged horse. "Until next time brave adventurers!" He shouted as they took off, flying elsewhere in the clouds.

Knowing that it would be used almost immediately Spider swiped the whistle from Luffy after he'd put it in the pocket of his shorts and headed to Chopper. Since it was attached to a string she kneeled down and tied it around the little reindeer's neck. Placing a finger to her lips she gestured for him to keep it quiet and hoped Luffy wouldn't notice. And since he wasn't exactly the most observant person in the world, he didn't.

"Wow, he was kind of unnecessary." Usopp thought aloud and gained some chatter of agreement.

"Hey Nami, do you know what an Extol is?" Spider asked their navigator.

"No, why would I? I've never been to a place like this."

Shrugging she replied with, "It's money, and you're our resident expert on currency so I figured if anyone knew it would be you."

Since that conversation went nowhere everyone got to work setting sail towards this 'heaven's gate' they were directed towards and after a small distraction with some particularly solid and bouncy clouds that the more immature members of the crew just _had_ to start playing on, they arrived at a very literal gate at the base of the massive waterfall with it's namesake written in large letters above it. Travelling further inside the crew managed to spot an elderly woman off to the side with a camera and after snapping their picture began speaking to them when she heard them chatting about her wings.

Her hair was grey and sat in twin buns on either side of her head, and she wore a rather drab pink dress. "I am Amazon the Heaven's Gate Inspector, state your business; sightseeing, war mongering or other?"

"I guess it's kinda like sightseeing." Nami responded but had to raise her voice in order for the woman to properly hear her.

"We wanna go to the sky island!" Luffy yelled over to her.

"Can we say 'all of the above'?" Zoro replied.

"It makes little difference, but you must first pay the entrance fee of one billion extol per person. That is the law." Amazon told them, her voice perfectly even cluing everyone in that she was not joking.

Rather than stand there and listen to the crew (mainly Nami) argue over the price Spider stepped off the ship and landed beside the sky island native who was at least two feet shorter if not more. "My apologies but we don't have extol, is there any way we could trade in berries or treasure?"

Amazon nodded. "We accept berries here too, one berry is equal to ten thousand extol, that'll be one hundred thousand per person."

"So that's eight hundred thousand Berries if we want to get inside." Spider spoke lowly so that only she and Amazon could hear as she pulled a wad of cash out of her inventory. "Keep the change." She told her before climbing back onto the ship to find the entire crew staring at her. "What?"

"She just said it was gonna cost eight hundred thousand berries for entry and you just gave her more than that without even asking for change! How much did you even give her?!" Usopp almost cried though why he did so was anyone's guess.

"It was only a million berries." Spider told him flippantly, "It not like she was asking for a lot."

Somewhere in the background Nami feinted.

"Just how much cash to you have on you?" Zoro asked after hearing this. "It's not as if we're exactly rolling in it even after we got paid in Alabasta."

"I traded some of my gold and equipment at a discounted price while we were there remember? Cobra seemed grateful since he could use it to pay for the damages caused by Crocodiles coup and better equip the royal army." Spider explained. "Right now I have close to three billion berries in my inventory."

"THREE BILLION!" They screeched.

"He said I couldn't have anymore since he had to leave some of it until he could sell the treasure." She responded calmly. " I don't see what the fuss is about."

"YOU DON-" Whatever Nami was about to say was cut off when two giant claws came from below them and clamped onto the sides of the Merry.

"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!" Luffy shouted.

"The white sea's famous express lobster." Amazon replied coolly. At her words the ship was lifted just out of the cloudy water and swiftly sped away on the back of the giant crustacean. Zooming up the winding road inside the waterfall leading them higher and higher towards the land of god.

* * *

Honestly, the last thing Spider expected to be doing was watching her crew play on the beach of Skypiea looking for all the world as if they were having the time of their lives. Luffy had immediately 'smelled adventure' and dove off the ship to have fun with Usopp and Chopper though now he was entertaining himself by trying to eat a fruit he found on the tree he was sitting on, he has so far been unsuccessful in biting into it however. Little bastard even threw one all the way back to the Merry aiming for Spider's head, though in his mind he was offering his friend food. ' _Still feeling guilty I guess.'_ Spider thought. Nami and Robin occupied themselves by sitting under a gazebo type structure while Zoro and Sanji explored a little, Spider did pay close attention to the swordsman however after becoming increasingly aware of his tendency to wander off but he didn't go far before turning back and finding a place under Luffy's tree to take a nap.

This left Spider alone on the ship which was fine despite the nagging of her crew to join them. She was content to simply watch and wait. Besides the view wasn't bad from the ship because she could drink in the city built on top of the clouds as well as the large road that lead beyond it. It appeared to have giant flora growing along the sides and it intrigued the Dovahkiin as she was unsure as to how they could grow without soil or magical assistance.

Keeping her friends in view she settled down in what was now hers _and_ Robin's spot near the back of the ship Spider retrieved another book she'd gotten courtesy of the Alabasta royal library. It was something she'd originally had little interest in reading but upon further thought believed it to be a necessary evil, the book focused heavily on current Marine officers and the ranking system they used as well as how they determined bounty sizes and all major bases. Starting with the Admirals Spider acquainted herself with their names and devil fruit abilities because apparently all of them had eaten one. "Idiots." Spider scoffed thinking back on the many weaknesses a devil fruit offers. She briefly skimmed over the bounty part when she noticed the crew talking to another Skypiea native, another one even past the ship on a small craft before crashing onto the beach. _'I'm staying out of this one, the only person in this place of any interest is several miles above us anyway.'_ Returning to her book she ignored the rest of their interaction with the two new comers.

Despite their best efforts at distracting her with Luffy almost drowning after trying the small sea craft and Nami riding circles around the ship on it Spider managed to research major marine bases and important locations. her favourite was a place called Impel Down, apparently it was a prison bad enough to be equated to hell itself where criminals are subjected to torture during their imprisonment until their eventual demise or execution date. "I could see myself working there, who know, if Sheo had dropped me there instead of with Luffy this story could have turned out very differently." Each level was worse than the last with horrors ranging from beasts to 'awakened' devil fruit users and even extreme environments such as arctic cold or desert heat. "If we ever get vacation time I know where I'm going, I wonder if they'll hire me?"

Looking back to the beach she realised her crew had disappeared but soon sensed them deeper in the city, she looked towards the building she could feel them in and saw Luffy sitting on the balcony looking out over the white-white sea, though her draconic eyes narrowed zooming in on his face even from this distance giving her the perfect view of his concern.

Not long afterwards he came back to the beach along with the two Skypeians so Spider put the book away mid way through the chapter about Buster Calls. They didn't sound like a good idea at all from what Spider had read and the fact that there wasn't a way to undo it after the transmitter was clicked was just bad protocol in her opinion, though she hadn't yet read into the history of its uses she could already tell she wouldn't like it.

"Bored already captain?" Spider called down.

"No but this guy said he could fix the broken Waver we found, could you throw it over?" He replied.

Spider went back into the storage space below deck by the boy's quarters and found something similar to what Nami was riding only it looked like a shark had took a chunk out of it and the steering handle was detached. Taking it back above deck Spider chucked it down to her captain who excitedly showed it to the man and his daughter. She even jumped down to join them.

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure." Spider again called down as she caught the girl glancing up nervously. "Spider PoisonBlood."

"I'm Konis." She responded hesitantly. "Your friends have told me a little about you."

 _'So_ that's _why she's nervous.'_ Spider thought. "Whatever they told you is a lie."

"So... you didn't pin half a pirate corpse above a gate and stuff a heart in his mouth?" She asked.

"... In my defence, that guy was an asshole." Konis shuffled closer to Luffy and her father at this. "But I bet they didn't tell you about the good stuff I did like the time I gave two giants massive tankards that infinitely refilled themselves with good quality beer." Spider could see her calm a little and continued. "Or when I healed an entire town's sick and injured for free. I even paid the entry fee for everyone to get in here, but did I get so much as a 'thank you'? No I didn't."

"You really paid eight billion extol for your friends? You must have a kind heart to do that."

"She does!" Luffy interjected. "She even forgave me for something horrible I did to her not too long ago, when everyone else was angry at me Spider told them it was okay and she wasn't mad at me for it when she should be."

"I'm still a murderous psychopath but it is be nice to be appreciated for all the good things I do every once in a while." Spider told her but before they could carry on with the conversation a familiar orange haired navigator sped onto the beach and dragged the Waver she was riding over to the group.

"Luffy, Spider! It's a good thing you guys are here, I found an island nearby and it's full of monsters and people who are out to get us, I heard them planning to frame us for crimes against the island so that they could execute us!" Nami managed to squeeze it all into a single breath before handing the waver back to Konis's father. "Thank you for letting me borrow this but we have to get going."

Luffy however only seemed to hear parts of Nami's warning as he repeated with stars in his eyes. "Nearby island, monsters, people who want to fight!"

"WEREN'T YOU LISTENING TO ME! THEIR GOING TO KILL US!" Nami cried shaking Luffy by his vest but clearly getting no where. "We need to find the rest of the crew and get out of here." She told him only this time in a normal voice.

"I think they've found us." Luffy replied looking past Nami and towards their friends who were rushing towards them as if their lives depended on it. Spider moved forward to be the first line of defence only to see the people chasing them to be soldiers of some kind in trashy white beret's.

Chopper and Usopp were the first to arrive, diving behind Spider and using her as a kind of shield against the oncoming squadron. Zoro was a second later but he veered off to stand protectively in front of Nami while Sanji went to the left, gently placing down Robin whom he'd been carrying as they fled the white berets before turning to guard his precious crewmate.

The squad of soldiers in cloud pattern pants that were too high up and white berets stopped ten feet short of the Straw Hat pirates with their captain a further three feet ahead of them when the guy started his barrage of crimes they'd committed. "Halt! For the fifth degree crime of theft, second degree crime of major vandalism to private property and public nudity, and the third degree crime of associating with wanted fugitives you are all deemed second degree criminals and so you will be judged by the priests of upper yard!"

She knew it wasn't important but once you'd heard it wasn't something you could forget. "Which one of you got slammed with the public nudity charge?"

"Focus!" Nami begged.

Spider paused as she thought about the situation and all the ways it could possibly turn out. _'Don't use extreme violence or magic to persuade them to leave, you can do this Vivi's way I know I can.'_ She didn't know why but the thought of her crew only telling stories of her violent tendencies bothered her and she wanted to make a good impression on Konis after the stories her friends had told about her. Sure they were true but that was neither here nor there.

"Luffy, before we have to fight our way out of this would you mind if I try something?" She took in his torn expression and knew she'd have to sweeten the deal. "There's meat in it for you."

"DEAL!" He practically screamed.

Throwing him a huge chunk of dinosaur meat Spider took her opportunity. "I'd been told I was perfect for this and ever since I've always wanted to try it."

"Huh, perfect for what?" Usopp asked from behind her. He looked at her almost shoulder length silky blonde hair, flawless white skin and piercing emerald eyes. She was undoubtedly beautiful but what would that make her perfect for?

Sauntering over to the captain of the white beret's and leaving Chopper and Usopp without their shield Spider approached the man and hovered just inside his reach putting on the most posh and commanding she could muster before saying the words that anyone who knew her would never in their right mind think she would ever say. "I demand to see your manager."

_Silence_

"... I'm sorry?"

"You better be sorry because if I don't see your boss in the next ten minutes due to your sheer incompetence at doing your _job_ I will personally have you kicked out on the street without a single extol to your worthless name!" Spider reamed into him getting the man to back up a few steps.

The captain raised both his hands trying to placate her. "Please ma'am I was only doing what I-"

"YOU THINK I CARE ABOUT YOU _WERE_ DOING! Get your head out of your ass and get on the line with your boss or so help me I will ruin your entire life!"

"RIGHT AWAY MA'AM!"

With some effort the man scrambled away from them rushing back towards the city with the entire squad in tow as the pirates stared and unashamedly gaped at what their guardian, the most violent person they had ever know, had just done.

 _'So maybe I saturated the air with a little magic to get them scared but all in all that went pretty well.'_ Spider thought proudly as she turned to see her crews shocked expressions. "What?"

* * *

 _'Well I'm never doing that again.'_ After her little act Spider had been subjected to absolutely _merciless_ teasing from select members of the crew who weren't afraid of her lashing out since they knew she'd do nothing to actually hurt them. Spider was seriously reconsidering her position on that front now though.

Still, some confused squawking and just a hint of begging later, Spider found herself inside the home of Konis and her father alongside Usopp, Sanji and Luffy while the others waited back on the ship. Apparently Luffy and Sanji felt it imperative to team up on arguing the importance of bringing back more Skypiean food and Usopp saw an opportunity to acquire some tools to help him fix up the Going Merry when it was damaged. Spider however, she just wanted to see the city a little before being chased away and had even managed to buy some of those dial things the crew talked about as well as a few clothes before heading to the address she was given.

She'd taken to sitting out on the balcony rather than staying inside, and she just watched the ship as everyone on it prepared to set sail. Sure there were snippets of conversation that caught her attention like Usopp pretending to be the only one who could be relied on to fix the ship when he knew full well Spider helped a great deal in terms of physically repairing the Merry, and Luffy arguing with Sanji over if the presentation of food actually matters.

So it was with no short amount of relief, (yes she's horrible for thinking this) that when two giant claws once again rose out of the water and clamped down on the sides of the ship, securing it in their grasp before speeding away from the island making it seem like the Merry was sailing backwards at first glance, without the sails actually being set, Spider thought to herself. _'Thank the divines the guy in charge wants to fight instead, I don't think I could survive trying to talk it out again.'_

Soon joined by the others on the balcony, this was when the creature below the ship decided to fully rise out of the white-white sea and reveal itself to be a huge crab with the word 'GOD' written across its head. Turning to her companions she silently demanded an explanation.

"Don't look at us, we don't know what it is." Luffy supplied.

"It's a crab you moron!" Sanji told him exasperatedly.

"I meant the fact it has 'GOD' written it." Spider clarified but the others only turned to Konis and her father before looking back at the retreating form of the Going Merry. "Would you two care to explain who that thing belongs to?"

"It's the legendary super express train is a messenger of Enel, he is god after he defeated our last leader. God is the title we gave them but Enel has powers that make him stronger than anyone on the island." Konis's father replied despairingly. "It is said that he is invulnerable to attack and many have fallen victim to his control over lightening, if we disobey he will bring down his wrath."

"Captain?" Luffy turned away from his discussion about where their friends were being taken. "Would it be acceptable if you were to lift certain restrictions when we meet this Enel?" She asked him only to receive a confused look, head cocked to the side slightly. "He is essentially a dictator here and I would honoured if you were to allow me to... put him in his place."

"Hmm" Luffy had his hand on his chin in thought. "But then who would I get to beat up?"

"That's true." Spider pondered the predicament. "Alright new plan, I get three non lethal hits to start with then when you fight him and win, I get the left overs."

"Deal!" Her captain smiled so wide it was practically a sideways D shape.

"Huh? What do you want with the guy after Luffy beats him?" Usopp questioned.

"Remember that book on devil fruits I found a while back? Well let's just say I'm curious to see how much of it is true." She responded, a dark smirk sneaking onto her face.

And for the next twenty minutes, Spider proceeded to take the piss out of 'god' Enel.

* * *

"What's he gonna do? _Smite_ me?" No sooner had the words left her lips dark clouds formed directly above the Dovahkiin. As one everyone that had previously gathered around the group at the docks backed away to what they considered a safe distance. Sanji had managed to pick up Konis and leap away while Luffy did the same with her father.

Spider could feel the air around her crackling as it was charged with electricity, the distinct scent of ozone filling her senses. _'Take your best shot.'_

Intense blue light filled her vision, a concentrated beam of pure energy crashing upon her utterly destroying everything inside the ten foot radius for what seemed like an eternity to those witnessing the event. When the beam finally started to decrease in size revealing the devastation everyone bar three were shocked to see Spider still standing. Unmoved. Now clad in her daedric armour rather than the casual wear she'd been in when the attack struck.

"Pathetic."

No longer feeling the need to hold back so much Spider went closer to the watery clouds and raised her hand as a purplish glow enveloped it. In the clear space on the docks she summoned a huge draemora soul, shaping it into the object she desired. When she was finished a wicked ship that looked to be made of bone shimmered into existence. Jagged edges and the morbid design gave it the appearance worthy of a grim reaper, it was about the same size as the Going Merry but rather than a ram, at the figurehead was the skull of a roaring dragon, actual flames licking at the edges of its maw.

Turning to the Skypieans who were watching with wide eyes at her display Spider smiled under the daedric helm. "Can your 'god' do that?" Without waiting for an answer Spider boarded her new ship and listened to Luffy gushing about how cool it was and if she could give him a cool ship too. Sanji was focused more on Spider's impressive magical abilities but he was gushing all the same with his captain. _'I work with children.'_ She thought even as Usopp uneasily boarded with them, he was clearly afraid of something but she couldn't place what it was since she'd been told asked not to speak to them through their minds anymore, something about privacy and violating it or whatever.

As soon as they were ready Spider set the ship into gear, propelling it through the use of magic until they hit the main current that would take them through Upper Yard and the trials that awaited them. Konis and her father had explained that their friends were to be sacrificed to Enel on an ancient alter in the middle of his domain and this only served to set the Dovahkiin's sights on the priests as well as Enel himself.

Travelling up the stream and destroying a few traps along the way, they eventually came to what looked like a dead end with four doors. The far left read 'ordeal of swamp' next to it was 'ordeal of iron' proceeded by 'ordeal of string' and finally on the far right was the door leading to the 'ordeal of spheres'.

"I vote iron." Spider immediately voiced her decision.

"WHAT? No way that sounds difficult, I vote for spheres, they're not deadly at all." Usopp cried out desperately.

"If it gets us to Nami and Robin any quicker I vote for spheres too." Sanji threw in his thoughts too.

"What about you captain?" Spider asked after Luffy had taken a while to respond to their conflicting decisions.

"Everything here is made of clouds... it would be awesome to bounce on those fluffy ones again, we could even find something cool inside them." Hitting his open palm with his fist Luffy smiled. "I'm going with spheres. But you can go wherever you want, so long as you meet us at the alter to find everyone."

"I would love to take on whoever is in charge of the ordeal of iron but right now my concern is with you guys, divines know you'll find some way to make this challenge more difficult than it actually is." Spider replied evenly.

"Aw so you do still love us, Usopp said you'd run away again after Robin laughed when Zoro made fun of how you chased those white beret guys away." Luffy spoke and started to laugh at her slight eye twitch.

"Really, Mr Public Nudity said that?" Spider purposefully eyed the sniper who cringed away from her nervously. _'Yeah, that's what I fucking thought.'_

The boat floated along through the far right door and into a darkened tunnel. It was a relatively short one but it did give time for Luffy to make her other two crew mates nervous.

"Hey guys what if this is like one of those games where if you pick the right door then you get a prize but if you pick the wrong one... well if you pick the wrong one then you fall off the island." He said it in such a calm yet amused tone that Spider almost doubted she'd heard correctly that he was morbidly predicting their demise.

"Even if that does happen, provided we hit land we'd be fine." She gestured to Luffy and herself. "You two on the other hand... it was a truly a pleasure to know you." Her smile was deceptively innocent despite her words causing further panic to rise from her crew.

"WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT!" Usopp could almost feel his heart comically break when he heard neither one would save them.

"Spider my dear you wouldn't really let your knight fall to his death would you?" Sanji asked, nervously sweating as he waited for her response.

"Bold of you to assume I need a knight mal sil." (Little heart)

There wasn't time for Sanji to be disappointed or even for Luffy to add a comment of his own before three of the four felt their stomachs drop as the boat exited the tunnel and plummeted down the small waterfall. Screaming and some foul language from their chef was involved though to Spider the fall was rather pleasant, giving her a decent view of Upper Yard however fleeting it may have been.

Splashing into the river below Spider felt a smile tug at her lips when the boys righted themselves after the fall, Luffy was positively beaming and asking if they could go again while Sanji and Usopp hounded him for putting the fear they'd fall off the island entirely into their heads.

Once this was settled everyone looked around the dense forest made up of huge overgrown trees and the excessively winding river of cloud their boat would follow through the area. That and the countless balls of island cloud that floated over their heads.

Spider could sense a number of living beings inside a few of them but the only other human was several hundred feet away, useless to think about now especially considering he was as physically weak as the man Luffy argued with inside the bar. Divines, that man could give a werewolf a run for its money with how much hair he displayed.

"I don't see how this is an ordeal." Luffy said while stretching his arm out to gently poke one of the floating spheres.

"Me neither but we'd better keep our heads up in case any surprises come our way." Sanji replied.

"There's only one other person in this area, and believe me with how weak he is _Usopp_ could beat him in a physical confrontation." Spider assured them.

"Well thank you, I'm sure you've noticed I've been working a lot harder on my training and-"

"She was insulting you." Sanji interrupted as he leaned back on the side of the boat, lighting a cigarette.

"In a friendly way." Spider shot a smile over to the now sheepish sniper.

"But if he's not that strong why would he be guarding this place? I thought those priest guys Konis and her dad told us about were supposed to be super tough!" Spider could practically feel the disappointment radiating from her captain. Scratch that she could actually _see_ it in his aura that had taken on a purple tinge.

"Not everyone's definition of strong is the same captain." Spider told him. "Someone you look to as being strong to me would be no more powerful than a blade of grass. If we're purely talking about physical capabilities that is."

"What do you mean?" Usopp asked her.

"Yeah I don't get it, what other kind of strong is there?" Luffy inquired, taking position beside his crewmate.

"Strength comes in many forms, while the obvious is physical as I mentioned, the rest can be seen in how patient a person is. Or their resilience in the face of adversity, for example; Usopp wouldn't be able to defeat a marine admiral in his current state but I'd bet a thousand souls that he'd die before betraying any of you to one, no matter how much they did to him." Spider levelled her stare right at the sniper and was fascinated by the awe and respect she saw in his eyes.

Unfortunately the touching moment didn't last long as one of the floating spheres near the front of the boat smacked against it and promptly exploded. No real damage was caused but her crewmates looked decidedly ruffled by the blast.

"Ah ha ha! Silly children, these are surprise clouds and you never know what's going to come out of them!" A voice called down to them from above. A very round man with yellow tinted glasses, long dark red lochs and a slightly creepy smile spun on top of a large cloud sphere before stopping and facing the crew.

Spider was on him in an instant. No one saw how she managed to move from the boat to the cloud sphere but the next thing anyone knew was that she had this new arrival in a death grip, bringing his face inches away from her daedric covered one.

"Call me a child again and I will eat your soul **_Joor_** **.** " Spider spat before throwing him head first into a nearby tree, not hard enough to seriously injure him but let's just say the crash was audible. Jumping back down onto her boat Spider received a looks from the boys. "I'm over two thousand years old, the only people that get to call me a child are either dead or have too much respect to insult me."

"YOU BRAT!"

Everyone looked past Spider to see a dishevelled dumpling (who apparently has a death wish) floating towards them with purpose and leap between them on the back of boat.

"Gum-gum pistol!" Luffy cried as he launched his fist towards the man only to have it expertly dodged and a gloved hand shoved towards his face.

"Impact!" The fat man shouted and as though struck by an invisible force Luffy flew backwards into a tree leaving a large crack in its trunk, his straw hat floating away from him having been blown away by whatever it was that sent him flying.

"I'm slightly saddened he didn't dodge that but it's something we can work on." Spider commented mainly to herself while purplish flames danced around her hand, dying down to reveal her captain's treasure. Placing it safely in her inventory for now she turned to see if Sanji would fair any better only for him to fall victim to the same trap, the priest predicted his movements, dodged then blasted him away. _'I'm curious as to how he's doing this but at the same time I really need to step up their training if both Luffy and Sanji get caught out by a single counter.'_

"Only the most well trained are granted the power of 'Mantra'" He stated after Sanji had landed somewhere below them.

"Interesting, I assume that's how you're predicting their moves despite not having fought them previously?" Spider questioned.

In answer the fat man hopped and danced his way to a couple of feet in front of her. "There's only a ten percent survival rate in the ordeal of spheres so if you want an answer you'll have to survive me and my hundreds of surprises first Ha ha-ha."

Smirking at the sheer stupidity of the sentence Spider looked to her last remaining crewmate on the boat who looked more than a little nervous. "Usopp, would you be a dear and go help Luffy and Sanji while I take care of our guest?"

The sniper backed up, looking down the drop where his crew was. It was easily a twenty foot drop. "I... I don't think I'm-"

"Do you really want to be here when the blood starts spilling?" Spider deadpanned.

To this day Usopp would swear that was the most perfect swan dive he has ever done.

Now that he was on guard Spider drew her daedric blade and thought about her plan of attack, sure she could easily slice him open faster than his Mantra would be able to detect and save him from but where was the fun in that? Instead a cruel smile etched its way onto her features.

 _ **"NU MULHAAN ALUN!"**_ (Now still forever).

Although it was hidden behind his tinted shades, Satori of the four priests had wild panic set in his eyes when he suddenly found his body refused to move even an inch no matter how hard he willed his muscles into action yet his mind was functioning perfectly and he could still feel his limbs.

Stalking towards him Spider held her sword to his throat, just barely touching his flesh before slowly trailing the tip of the blade down his overly sized body stopping at his stomach. Gently, almost with quiet reverence she pushed until the sword pierced Satori and sank the entirety of the blade into his gut. Stepping in closer she spoke softly into his ear. "The question isn't if I'm going to survive your ordeal, it's how long before you break under mine."

It wasn't a particularly pretty sight when Luffy recovered enough to stretch his arm onto the boat and carry his crew with him back onto the boat. Spider had had ten minutes to extract whatever information she could out of the priest, and for someone with as much power and... experience as her, it only took two. The rest was considered 'play time.'

Knee deep in priest guts and holding a severed arm Spider looked up at her crew, not having been aware they were coming up before hand since she got a little carried away in her work. Looking down then back up and to the severed limb before returning her gaze to the disgusted expressions of her crew.

"I can explain." She tried.

"I thought I told you to hold off on stuff like this." Luffy looked at her with something akin to disappointment but not quite.

"In my defence," Spider started and gestured down to the mess of a body below her. "He's still alive."

Apparently that was the wrong answer. Usopp flat out feinted and Sanji had to catch him, taking several steps away in order to avoid the growing stench. Luffy... well Luffy just had that same look on his face.

Stepping out of the priest Spider picked him up and tossed him overboard like a ragdoll, hearing a splash as he hit a section of the river below them. She summoned a thin sheet of flame that scorched any remnants of her torture session away, cleaning both herself and the boat in this single action before facing her captain once again.

"I'm sorry."

"Do you really mean it?" Luffy asked, his tone suggesting he was unconvinced by her words.

Taking a moment to think over how to respond Spider then looked to him confidently. "I was frustrated by my earlier attempt to handle the situation with the white berets without bloodshed ending with our friends being taken, That result didn't sit well with me and I allowed my control to slip. You have my sincere apologies captain."

A tense few minutes passed, neither one of them moved even as they sailed across the winding river of cloud. Eventually Luffy's expression softened and he nodded towards her accepting the explanation without further pursuing the topic. As a token of appreciation Spider took out Luffy's straw hat and handed it to him, receiving a wordless thanks.

Instead their attention was brought to their sniper and Spider brought him back to the world of the living, though it didn't stop him from bolting to throw up over the side of the boat as soon as she did.

Spider received another look from Luffy but she just shrugged. It's hardly her fault the boy had a weak stomach.

* * *

Quicker than she would have thought, they made it out of the ordeal of spheres section of the forest and out into an open field with the river leading them towards what Spider assumed to be the centre.

"Oh no, we're going towards another ordeal aren't we? We're going to die I can feel it!" Usopp cried as he examined the area.

"Calm down it's just a grassy field." Luffy attempted to placate him.

"CALM DOWN?! Look around, there are thousands of heads on sticks here to scare us and it's working!"

Spider scoffed. "My realm has more, a thousand skulls on pikes is a rookie number in comparison."

"What do you mean your realm?" Sanji asked not remembering her mention anything like this before.

"Remember that demonic god of domination I told you about?" There was a round of nods followed by a 'difficult to forget you telling us that.' "After I devoured his soul I claimed his realm of oblivion. It's not like I live there or oversee everything that happens but it's my magic that kept it from falling apart after Molag Bal's death."

"So you just own an entire realm of existence? So cool!" Luffy cheered.

"Every draemora that inhabit there are under my command, they're the ones I summon when we train." Spider told them.

"How many live in your part of oblivion?"

"Several hundred thousand draemora and countless more condemned souls, though like I said it's not somewhere I visit often since I just use it as a place to send annoying mortals." Spider clarified.

"But if you don't even use it then why waste the energy keeping it stable?" Usopp asked.

"I'm not as heartless as I appear." Spider said with a smile though it was invisible beneath the helmet. "Killing that many soldiers would have been such a waste." _'The fresh supply of souls doesn't hurt for when I felt the cravings didn't hurt either.'_ Spider recalled the hunger pangs she'd suffer through shortly after absorbing Molag Bal's essence, now it was much more manageable, only requiring a soul once every few years or so. Though this did nothing to stop her... indulging before necessary.

Suddenly an explosion sounded off to their left and four warriors broke out from the tree line, the leader having a distinct gash that barely looked healed along the left side of his jaw. They sailed over the crew wearing those quirky looking cloud skates, barely getting more than twenty feet away when the leader who had managed to get another bazooka flipped himself into an upside down position, took aim and fired at them.

 _'If that's how you want to play it.'_ Spider left the explosive package to her captain trusting his ability to deflect it as she pulled out a daedric bow along with four wickedly barbed daedric arrows, sliding them across the bowstring. While Luffy gum-gum ballooned the explosive away Spider drew back the arrows lining up her shot as the four warriors landed on a large tree opposite where they'd appeared. Time seemed to slow around her right up until the moment she released her shot.

Four deadly projectiles glided effortlessly through the air towards their targets, none of them even a millimetre off course. By the time the four so much as caught a glimpse it was too late as the arrows flew past, being just close enough to tear open the soft flesh of their necks.

Spider watched curiously as they made their choice. They could either drop their weapons to keep pressure of their wounds and live, or attempt to fire back and die of blood loss. A smile creeping onto her features as one by one she watched self preservation take over every last one of them, even their leader who to be fair, fired first.

"Good job." Spider heard her captain say from her left.

"Thank you."

Their journey was significantly less eventful after that as the river guided them straight to the alter and aside from Luffy pummelling a bunch of sky sharks that tried to eat the boat there was nothing that tried to stop them. The reason being Spider soon learned was that the Going Merry which had been dumped on top of the alter had already been attacked by another priest but he'd managed to use the whistle to get the sky knight to help him before he was killed. Not that she would have let that happen of course yet it was troubling the others had decided to leave in order to explore.

Nami, Robin and Zoro stood in front of her and Chopper stuck to Spider's right as they explained what they found.

"So what you're all saying is that you three left this adorable little ball of fur," Spider picked up Chopper in one hand for emphasis and shook him slightly. "all alone, surrounded by deadly sky sharks, in a forest you knew for a fact contained priests of 'god' that would stop at nothing to hunt each of you down and slaughter you?"

"... well when you put it like that it makes us sound like idiots." Zoro eventually replied.

"Are you going to try and defend the decision because you'll have a hard time convincing me it was even close to being a smart one." Spider challenged the three of them yet they each just looked away with differing expressions. "Thought so."

The sky knight was being kept below deck and in thanks for him protecting Chopper as well as taking down another of Enel's priests Spider healed his wounds with golden waves of healing light, making Ganfall swear he felt a decade younger when he awoke. (Which he was since his body was restored to being closer to his prime before Spider cut off the spell.

He didn't stay for long however as he mentioned that he was entertaining a guest when the call came and had to get back to her quickly, so both the sky knight and Pierre made their exit after bidding everyone goodbye.

By this point however nightfall arose. Rather than sleeping on the ship Luffy had ordered that the crew make a campfire on the coast surrounding the alter. Keeping the ship in view of course while Usopp went over everything they'd learned so far with a portable blackboard he'd managed to bug Zoro into dragging over from the Merry.

"So to conclude! The priests are able to predict our moves through a mysterious power called Mantra. Their weapons and animal companions can shoot out fire. But most importantly we've learned this!" Usopp smacked the part of the board where he wrote Nami's input. "The city of gold is not a thousand leagues under the sea as we had thought but it is hidden somewhere on this very island!"

"NO WAY!" Luffy's eyes practically shot out of his head in surprise.

"THAT WAS THE FIRST THING I TOLD YOU!" Nami shouted at her captain in frustration.

Spider interrupted the fight before it could actually begin. "This Mantra power, I learned from the priest it is really a sixth sense of sorts allowing them to feel what action their opponent is going to do, though it requires that they remain focused to use it. Apparently Enel is exceptionally skilled in its use, that's how he knows when someone blasphemes and he can deliver his 'punishment' to them."

"How are we supposed to beat him if he knows what we'll do and where we are?" Chopper asked from her side.

"The captain will be the one to defeat him but I've been allowed three attacks on this 'god' and I'll make sure he won't find it so easy to maintain his concentration when they've been delivered." Spider answered.

As if he wasn't even listening, which if she was honest with herself he probably wasn't, Luffy stood up with a manic grin. "This is it, an adventure with gold at the end! I can't wait!"

"Glad to see someone on my side I'm ready!" Nami pitched in.

Robin chuckled. "Sounds like fun."

"Well, we wouldn't be very good pirates if we turned our backs on gold so lets not." The chef spoke over the gentle crackle of the fire.

"It won't be easy since everyone up here already hates us. So I'm in." Zoro smirked at the prospect of a challenge.

"Oh come on, aren't you all even a little frightened at the wrath of god?" Usopp had tears flowing at this point.

"Not since I killed my second one." Spider replied. "This will be a cake walk in comparison."

"Has anyone ever told you that it's not normal how strong you are?" Zoro asked from his sitting position across from Spider.

"You get used to it after a couple of centuries, I can't tell you how many times I have accidentally caused a disaster because I was still learning to control it." Spider told him.

"What kind of disaster are you talking about?" Sanji inquired.

"I'll say it's the kind that leaves a noticeable trail of destruction and leave it at that."

"But how did you get to control it?"

"After Molag Bal I became too destructive so now I siphon most of the magical energy created by the souls I've eaten to Sheo which he is able to store in his realm of oblivion and use in order to transport me across realities. Though with the amount of energy I constantly generate I'm surprised his realm hasn't exploded yet." She explained.

"So at any point you can call this daedric prince and get back over two thousand years of stored energy that you're still adding to?" Nami leaned forward, avidly interested in the answer.

"Yes... however I don't believe anything would survive the aftermath." Spider responded solemnly. "It's difficult having to show this much restraint but when I find people like all of you, it's suddenly all worth it."

"AWW!" The entire crew crowded around in one big hug centred on the Dovahkiin, Luffy having stretched his arms around the whole crew. "We love you too."

Smiling at the silly antic Spider allowed herself to melt into the hug her friends, her family were giving her. Once they had separated it was late into the night and everyone needed to get some rest so with soft 'goodnights' and some gentle snoring, all bar one fell into the comforting abyss of sleep.

_Bang_

B _ang_

B _ang_

Back on the ship, a small ethereal figure hammered away at the damaged Going merry.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short one - last chapter I wrote before the hiatus

_Bang_

_Bang_

_Bang_

The noise was difficult to ignore for the Dovahkiin as she attempted to simply wait out the night allowing her companions to rest. Considering they were going to fight 'God' tomorrow it seemed they would need every bit of sleep they could get.

Standing up from her seat on a conjured chair that swiftly burned out of existence when she stepped away, Spider walked towards the Going Merry and the banging only grew louder. This wouldn't be the first time she'd noticed the spirit wandering the ship, though it seemed harmless so she'd left her alone for the most part, both aware of the others existence yet saying nothing to acknowledge it.

Spider stalked across the calm cloudy water until she reached the ship and proceeded to climb aboard. Pulling herself up she saw the shadowy girl holding a small mallet slowly repairing the ship from any injuries it had accrued from the short time it was apart from the rest of the crew. This had included the mast being snapped basically in half and the residual fire damage from Chopper's encounter with the priest.

"Nice work, though we both know it won't last." Spider said with a hint of regret in her voice.

The spirit stopped its work and turned her head towards the Dovahkiin, only offering a small smile in response before going right back to fixing herself.

"I hope you'll be able to stay with us for a while longer, Simply wouldn't be the same without catching you out of the corner of my eye every now and then. Watching the crew go about there lives with that constant smile you seem to have." Spider continued as she drew closer to the spirit. "Like when Luffy, Usopp and Chopper play chase on the deck and you tilt the ship to make them fall at the perfect time, keeping the game going." She was next to her now, trailing her hand down the repaired mast. "Or when we're having dinner and you keep us on course while sitting in the corner on the counter, enjoying the sound of a family."

Spider saw ghostly tears trailing down the girl's face as she carried on hammering nails into the new supports for the mast, smile never leaving, even for a second.

"I'm sorry. But I'll hold on just a little bit longer, I promise." She spoke softly, attempting to disappear in a foggy mist.

Spider placed a hand on her shoulder before she could and for the first time, Merry felt her spirit form become as solid as her actual body. "Mal veysun, you seem to think I'd ever let you leave." A gentle squeeze and Spider let go allowing Merry to dissipate into seemingly nothing. But she knew better and could feel the happiness that the ship was emitting from the comforting words. "For this crew, I'll do anything. Even... break a promise."

* * *

Morning had arrived rather quickly after that since Spider was able to wait out the night in peace, though not before she moved the Going Merry back onto the cloudy surface of the strange water found only in sky islands.

Nami was quick to devise a plan that day as she separated the crew into two teams, the exploration group would go out and find the city of gold, take as much treasure as they could carry, then meet the rest of the crew at a set destination. The second group would sail the ship down river through the island and towards the beach by the ruins as fast as possible. Then they would be able to escape the island for good. She'd droned a little about being a rich and powerful crew able to buy anything which Spider scoffed at.

 _'I am already rich and powerful, able to buy anything.'_ She thought but kept to herself since she didn't want to dampen the navigator's happy mood.

The plan was set and soon the crew parted ways again, Spider going with the exploration team consisting of Luffy, Zoro, Chopper and Robin while the others tended to the ship. all was well for the first hour, even the giant snake they'd passed was friendly enough offering them a ride towards the ruins, although it was slightly offended that Chopper cried after seeing her.

The journey was direct and no one got separated making it all a little too easy when they reached the ruins of the lost city of gold. Or to be more precise, the top of it, Spider could sense the structures under the clouds along with another interesting tidbit.

"There's no gold here." She said as they were dropped off and the snake melted back into the jungle.

"Huh, what do you mean? this is the city of gold, there has to be something here." Luffy replied as he ran around, closely inspecting the rooftops visible above the cloudy floor for any signs of the precious metal.

"There is a large concentration of gold nearby but I can't sense anything more than a thin sheet of it underneath us. It's almost as if it's been extracted from here and moved." She concluded when suddenly Spider went very still causing the others to turn and ask what was wrong. "Seriously, he attacks _them_ of all people?"

They received nothing further as Spider was enveloped in purple flames and promptly disappeared.

The second group was not having a good time. Enel himself had decided to grace them with his presence and managed to incapacitate their chef before releasing a lightening bolt towards the sniper who was threatening him with an army of ten thousand soldiers.

The blue streak soared towards Usopp but was stopped dead as Spider appeared in a haze of purplish fire, blocking the potentially deadly strike. Before her stood a tall, well built man with long ear lobes, half naked but decked out in gold jewellery. A strange set of drums were wired above his head and attached to his back.

Usopp had feinted (what a surprise) and the fear in Nami's eyes soon turned to relief.

"Only the foolish attack my friends, didn't you see what I did to your little priest _joor._ " Because make no mistake, this man was nothing more than a mortal, his body will turn to dust just like everything else, in time.

He gave a small "Hmph" as amusement crossed his face. "You killed someone significantly below the power of god, and whilst you might have survived my judgement once don't be naïve as to think I'll allow it to happen again."

A smile that would rival the hungriest predator appeared across Spider's features. "God huh? I keep hearing that yet all I see is a small, insignificant mortal man. If you were truly a god, then you'd know better than to challenge me."

"And who are you, insect?" He spat.

"Spider Alicia PoisonBlood, God of Destruction." As she spoke the jungle grew very still and no noise escaped from it. A darkness seemed to flow from Spider as Nami managed to drag both Usopp and Sanji away from the two. Slowly Spider's form grew larger and more intimidating, her daedric armour distorting into something distinctly more draconic.

Like a viper Spider struck faster than Enel could react, ripping through his flesh and grabbing his sternum causing Enel to cry out in agony as she threw him into and through several massive jungle trees.

_"One"_

Teleporting beside the prone man Spider found herself inside a small crater yet wasted no time in reaching for Enel's throat and picking him up to her height which was now just over 9 feet tall. She reached around to grab the steel bar connecting his drums and tore it from his body, allowing the object to turn to ash in her hand.

_"Two"_

Enel tried to escape, he really did. But it was useless in his case. He was caught in the Spider's web as it were, all the struggling, all the lightening and all the screaming only seemed to drive her to crush his neck that little bit tighter each second. Until she dropped him. Promptly stomping his shin, leaving a bloody mess.

_"Three"_

Enel was scared. A natural reaction when faced with the one thing that could destroy literally anything. But he was snapped out of his pained daze when she next spoke.

_"You can run. Or you can die."_

Suddenly feeling the overwhelming presence lighten around him, Enel disappeared in a spark of blue light.

Spider quickly toned everything down and returned to the Going Merry. She healed Sanji and dealt with the 'you're so amazing' praises from him and told the two she should be heading back to the others, while she was gone she'd noticed they'd separated (because of course they did) and she shouldn't leave them to their own devises for too long if they wanted to get the gold and leave on time. So in another blaze of purple flames she returned to the ruins.

* * *

Why the fuck was Chopper left alone again? She'd been through this with them once before yesterday 'Don't leave the little fur ball alone' it's not that difficult. Granted she might be slightly over protective of the reindeer, but Spider couldn't help it since Chopper was so similar to...

"Now isn't the time to remember the dead." She said to herself as she walked through a completely different section of the ruins as to when she had left her group (for like five minutes) and wondered how they could have gotten so lost. Deciding it was best to pick them up one at a time she'd zeroed in on her _mal kiir_. Rather fortunately too since he had managed to get himself into a spot of trouble in the middle of what seemed to be a ruined street.

Spider could clearly see Chopper up ahead looking around frantically and on closer inspection she could tell he was bleeding from a few wounds he'd recently received. Rushing faster than what was perceptible to a human eye Spider appeared at Chopper's side and scooped up the young reindeer causing him to squeak in surprise until he saw who it was. A golden glow enveloped him as Spider magically healed his cuts, staunching the blood and cleaning any sign that he was hurt to begin with.

"Who did this to you?" Spider questioned placing him back down.

"I don't know who he is, but he's got a huge dog and a really weird sword that turns into a whip but its still super sharp!" Chopper exclaimed. "I couldn't beat him or get away even with all the training you get us to do." He sounded more than a little ashamed of the last part.

"Shh, that's alright. Think of it this way, he is just another goal that you can set yourself to become stronger than and when you do you can set your sights on the next one that's even stronger." She told him with a smile.

"You're right. I WILL BECOME STRONGER!" He cried making Spider smile even more, though it looked strange to have a warm smile while wearing demonic armour sans the helmet.

"That's the spirit!" Spider cheered with him and patted the top of his hat. "But in all seriousness," She began to look a little pissed off at this point. "Where's the guy now, I've got to teach him that no one messes with my crew and gets away with all their limbs still attached."

"A bold statement." A voice called out from above them. Sat atop of a very large dog was a well built man in dark stylish glasses and a sword as big as Chopper had described. "But none have survived my ordeal of iron." He declared.

Turning her attention away from him Spider looked down to Chopper. "Go find somewhere to hide, this won't take long." She assured him and with a dutiful nod the reindeer disappeared behind a nearby building.

The man dropped from his perch, the dog landing beside him. The large sword drawn and ready to slice clean through his opponent at a moments notice. _'Cute.'_ Spider thought briefly.

Drawing her own daedric blade she took up an almost bored combat position. "I've already turned your boss into a cowering wreck and your colleague into mince meat. How well do you think this is going to end for you?"

"Liar, no one can defeat Enel, he's the god of this land and all others." The man barked back as he charged towards Spider. Swinging his sword a good five meters away yet it suddenly extended outwards colliding with Spider's own weapon as she knocked the blow aside effortlessly.

"I'm getting really tired of people calling that mortal a god." Spider stepped forward, again slashing at Ohm's strikes and rendering them useless until out of no where the clouds which had rolled in around the area making it into a kind of arena shot towards her in thin razor sharp lines. Feeling no need to evade the attack they were able wrap around the Dovahkiin over and over until she looked to be completely trapped.

A satisfied huff escaped her opponent as he approached, ready to gloat. Big mistake.

As soon as he was in range Spider snapped the iron clouds with her shear strength and grabbed Ohm's collar with her off hand. "Don't get too cocky now." She said, releasing him a stepping back just out of range from a wild slash of his whip-like sword.

A growl filled the pair's ears as Ohm's companion leapt to his side, teeth bared. Smiling at his advantage the man looked ready to savour his victory, when will they learn? The dog stalked forward closing the distance on his next meal.

Spider's eyes flashed a bight green and her pupils turned to draconic slits. She matched the beast's growl with her own that promised nothing but pain and misery if he took another step. Shadows passed over the group in broad daylight, revealing for just a moment, the outline of a demonic dragon over the body of their enemy. A sense of dread filling their very souls. But then the shadows passed and Spider was stood alone. No evil dragon in sight, yet the feeling remained.

The dog quickly whimpered weakly and bolted into the forest leaving Spider and Ohm to their duel.

Both of them stood still. Waiting. One from fear, the other from morbid curiosity. _'I have some time to spare, and I'm bored of the usual killing. What to do with you I wonder?'_ She debated internally over a myriad of options she had at her disposal. _'Obviously he can't be allowed to live, no one hurts my crew and escapes completely unscathed, and this one tried to kill Chopper.'_ Her eyes hardened at the thought of the young reindeer lying in the dirt bleeding out if she hadn't arrived when she did.

"What are you?" He finally breathed out the question that had been burned into his brain for the last several painfully long seconds.

 _ **"Allow me to show you."**_ Spider's voice was a harsh grinding sound that made his bones creak in response. Purple flames enveloped them both and all of a sudden the landscape around them changed. Gone was the lush green of the jungle and soft browns of the ground, instead it was replaced by an uneven jagged sickly blue stone for the floor and everywhere you looked there were bones of all kinds of creatures scattered around. Strange structures made of the same blue rock rose hundreds of meters into the bottomless sky, it was akin to staring into the abyss, one could quite literally lose themselves if they gazed into it's depths.

That was to say nothing of the horrifying draemora that called the realm home. From winged monstrosities with teeth that could easily rip flesh from bone to arachnid type demons which stalked the land looking for any unlucky prey they could find. Of course there were many others that lived here yet these two were the first Ohm laid eyes upon from a distance.

"WHERE AM I!" He cried whirling around only to see he was completely alone.

* * *

Luffy was perplexed. Robin had told him to she was only going to be a few minutes looking through the boring old building they'd found after Zoro had wandered off and Chopper ran after him. But she'd been gone for a while now, and there was a weird looking guy that had crashed in front of him.

"Hey what happened to you, why's your foot gone?" Luffy asked tilting his head to the side.

The weird guy stood to his full height with a pissed off expression. "OUT OF MY WAY FOOL!" He screamed at the captain of the straw hat pirates angrily, shooting lightening at the kid intending to turn him into ashes. Only he looked fine.

"Whoa no need to be rude about it old man." Luffy said back as if he hadn't just had 20,000 volts thrown at him.

The look on Enel's face was both priceless and disgusting.

He didn't stay that way for long however as the lightening-lightening fruit user manifested an artificial foot and shin using his powers so that he could properly stand and belted out a battle cry of utter desperation. Now there were two people immune to his godly powers, why now of all times?

Luffy dodged the blows sent his way and struck back with a few of his own but only managed to graze him once while the weird guy seemed to get faster and land more and more hits on the rubber man.

The fight was far from epic but both were giving it their all for some time.

It was to the scene of Luffy landing a killer blow to Enel's stupid face causing him to lose concentration on his artificial foot which subsequently evaporated making him lose balance opening Enel up to a super beat down, that Spider and Chopper walked in on.

Luffy's shirt was slightly torn and he'd ditched his sandals in order to fight with more ease. _'I'll never understand why he wears such outdated footwear.'_ Spider thought idly while Chopper cheered for Luffy to hit him again.

Enel turned to face the annoying voice and immediately spotted the _thing_ that had injured him earlier. This was enough of a lapse that Luffy delivered a gum-gum pistol to his gut unhindered. Rushing to the 'god' Luffy wrapped his arms around him before lifting him high into the sky as far as his limbs would allow and then dragged him down to the hard dirt with a cry of "GUM-GUM SMASH!" Leaving a pretty big crater and an unconscious Enel in the middle.

"Excellent work captain." Spider complimented with a smile.

Luffy had fell back and broke out into a huge grin. That was an amazing work out and he couldn't wait for a real fight with someone at full strength, as it was the weird guy was injured and while it was still difficult, Luffy would have preferred someone that wasn't already hurt.

It was quiet for a minute until Spider gently pushed Chopper forward, at his confused look she said "You are a doctor aren't you?"

"Right!" He yelled with a panicked look and went straight to his captain.

Spider however had a different target, walking to the still unmoving figure of Enel she roughly grabbed him by the throat and announced that she would be back soon so they could celebrate, but first there was a small inconvenience that she had to take care of.

Taking the body deep into the forest Spider used whirlwind sprint to quickly move to where she sensed a large number of people gathered, rearing to fight. She appeared in a rush of air carrying the very person everyone was itching to fight over and tossed him on the ground carelessly. All eyes trained on her and the body of Enel.

On either side were the Shandayans and the royal soldiers, the only person in the middle with her was the sky knight that she had met previously. It appeared that he had managed to postpone any serious fighting from taking place long enough for her to arrive. And it was worth the effort. Whispers of disbelief passed over both sides until the Dovahkiin spoke and everyone quieted in order to hear.

"Your 'god' is defeated by the hand of Straw Hat Luffy. I've delivered him as a message, he can't force you to obey him or to hide in fear anymore so stop your pointless fighting." She said it with a lack of emotion yet the authority was clear and many outright dropped their weapons then and there. Others upon realising that the unstoppable Enel had been beaten dropped to their knees and wept from relief.

Spider couldn't really say what possessed her to stop the fighting, it's not like she and crew really profited from it, if anything it would have been a great distraction while they made their escape. Ugh her morality was growing stronger, she thought it had been buried a long time ago.

Taking the opportunity to once again pick up the unconscious mortal Spider dragged the body away without any trace of hesitation, even when the people behind her called out for her to stop, despite only walking they couldn't catch up to her. As soon as they were alone Spider placed him against a tree and he began to stir. Taking a tangerine out of her inventory from one of the trees Nami grows on the Merry Spider held it in her left hand while conjuring a daedric styled mallet in her right.

Enel had all of a few seconds to groggily take in the sight of a sickening grin being flashed towards him from above before his face came into contact with the mallet eliciting a loud crunch as his skull caved in and blood exploded outwards from the impact. Pulling the weapon back strips of muscle and sinew stuck to the flat of the mallet making Enel's head lurch forward as if trying to follow it like a puppet.

Banishing the mallet Spider waited while she tested the theory her book had taught her and was pleasantly surprised when the small fruit began to morph in her hand, turning yellow and jagged with a few lightening-esque patterns along the outside of it. This would be worth a lot she was sure of it, but it wouldn't do to give it to just anyone since they could become a rather large pain later. No she would have to find just the right person.

* * *

A giant flying ship made of gold. This was Enel's grand plan. _'How quaint.'_ Spider thought as she used her alteration to transform it into gold ingots and stored most of it in her inventory, to be fair it was a sizeable amount and everyone was incredibly happy (especially a certain navigator) as they loaded the rest onto the Going Merry. She'd found it by using the clairvoyance spell and was not disappointed with the results despite the ship itself being rather cliché for a villain. 'Lets build a giant weapon to destroy stuff' very original.

Everyone was together again and it turned out that almost everyone got quite a fight out of this adventure, Robin managed to beat up the royal soldiers' general, and Zoro had fought three Shandayans that had challenged him. One being the masked warrior that tried to kill them when they first arrived. Zoro was bloodied but smiling like a mad man when he returned. He was getting stronger. Nami, Sanji and Usopp were troubled by he remaining priests and were able to defeat them both simultaneously by themselves as their training paid off. (Spider was a proud mama bear about this but didn't want to show it just yet).

The only one that wasn't back yet was a certain Straw hatted teen that they couldn't leave without (not that they'd have left anyone behind at all) and everyone was curious where he could have gone. Robin had suggested he could have fallen off the island but Spider put that to bed saying she could still sense him up here. Actually, he was even higher than them.

Looking up towards the top of the thick stalk of Giant Jack as the locals dubbed it, Spider saw it pierce deeper into the thick island clouds above it. Luffy was about to do something cool or stupid, she could feel it.

A number of locals had gathered to wave goodbye to the pirates in spite of the short time they had spent actively helping them, Enel and his minions simply got in the way. They had given the straw hats all kinds of dials as a thank you but were regretful that they had to leave so soon. That was until a loud ringing boomed across the island from above.

A beautiful chime that just filled the air with its symphony. Everyone looked to the clouds above them at this new sound, the island singing again. In said clouds a huge shadow of a boy in a straw hat doing a perfect split had appeared and very quickly said boy fell through the sky hurtling towards them at startling speed.

It seemed Luffy had done something cool rather than stupid. Another pleasant surprise. He ballooned his body to grotesque levels to soften his landing and bounced onto the Going Merry with his signature grin full of its usual cheer.

"What are you guys waiting for? LETS GO!" He yelled.


	7. Justice and its Excuses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quick arc and a moral argument.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is mostly a short update just to say I'm alive, but I have run into technical issues which is why I haven't updated anything in so long. My laptop has reached that point in its life where if it's off charge for longer than 5 seconds it dies, and the charger no longer stays in the port with the same determination it once had. So until I get a new laptop I may not be making new chapters for a little while. Life is still busy and all that crap.
> 
> Not abandoned though, still love you guys and your comments :)

Admittedly the giant squid-like thing that the people of Skypeia had given the Straw Hat's to safely decend from the sky island wasn't the strangest thing she had seen but watching her captain, Chopper and Usopp bounce on top of it repeatedly certainly made it into the top one hundred. What can I say when you live as long as Spider the lists get pretty long.

However she was less than impressed when the boys' antics caused the creature's limited air supply to be drained very rapidly and soon the Going Merry was plummeting down towards the sea at high speeds.

"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" Someone screamed (I wonder who).

"I SWEAR IF WE DIE AFTER FINALLY GETTING RICH I'LL MURDER YOU ALL!" Yelled another.

"Calm down" Zoro chided. "The water's soft so we'll be fine."

"Actually if we hit the water at this speed it will be the equivalent of crashing into cement. It's more likely the ship will shatter than us surviving in one piece." Robin reasoned.

It was truly amazing that they could have this kind of conversation while imminent death approached them rather than just incoherently screaming like normal people. But that's just how they are.

Spider was just glad they weren't actually going to die, not with her around anyway. Spider walked to the centre of the Going Merry and gathered magical energy allowing it to swirl around her hands before extending them outward towards either side of the ship. The softly glowing radiance extended from her and attached itself the hull creating large draconic wings on both sides, shadowing all below them. Gradually the ship slowed it's decent and touched down gracefully on the surface of the ocean.

Or at least the everyone thought they did.

As soon as they landed bright search lights were aimed at them from all sides with just the appropriate sound of alarms accompanying them so from the looks of it, the crew appeared to have landed in the centre of a huge base/prison. ' _Fabulous_.' Spider thought as she banished the large wings from the ship.

"So umm, does anybody know where the heck we are?" Luffy asked while holding a small squid that Spider assumed to be the one they'd floated down on.

"We're in the middle of no where about to be killed by whoever's shining lights at us, that's where!" Usopp cried earning him a slap to the back of the head from Nami.

"I did not survive this long with you bone heads to die after hitting it big so stop being so negative!" She chastised the sniper.

"You guys might want to look over here, we've got guests." Zoro gestured over to the portside. Sure enough several small boats paddled towards the Going Merry carrying a number of Marines.

"It Appears we've entered a marine base." Robin quickly deduced going from the amount of cannons she was able to see built into the cliff side of the land that encircled them.

"Whoa that's so cool! I've never seen one before, let's explore!" Luffy cheered. And in true Luffy fashion he gum-gum rocketed from the ship all the way to shore leaving behind a disgruntled crew.

"He's got a point." Spider commented. On seeing the confused glances she elaborated. "While we're here we may as well help ourselves to anything we can find, we are pirates after all."

"What about the Merry?" Sanji asked. "We can't exactly leave the ship here."

"Spider smiled. "Let me take care of that, you should all go and find something to do until Luffy gets bored and we can leave." With a wave her crew was engulfed in purple flames and transported to the nearby shore just as the first marines started boarding.

Men dressed in white and blue carrying weapons that more often than not were ineffective at harming their enemy climbed up and over the railing only to be greeted by a lone figure clad in daedric armour. Spider had equipped her helmet for the occasion adding an additional sense of terror to her appearance. Warily the marines stepped forward.

"You'll regret coming any closer _joor._ That I promise you." Spider barked and suddenly they all stopped. "You have heard about what happened to that vice admiral they sent after us by now haven't you?" She asked rhetorically. "It would be a shame to have to go through such _messy_ business with your kind again."

"M-maybe we should let the vice-admiral handle this." One of them managed to say.

"This is a surprise, I didn't think I'd find someone smart enough to run away." She goaded.

This angered the growing number of marines that had now climbed aboard, each of them looked to each other with steely determination before issuing a battle cry and charging straight for the Dovahkiin. The first to reach her had his sword raised and with trained precision slashed towards her sternum in a practiced arc, yet to his surprise Spider caught the blow by the middle of the blade and snapped the sword in two. Still holding the piece she had broken off Spider turned and deflected a second, third and fourth strike.

Quickly side stepping a charge and tossing the blade aside she backhanded another marine sending him barrelling away and over the railing of the Merry. Looking to the others who were readying for another attack Spider drew her daedric weapon of choice, smiling a little under her helmet. _'I warned them'_ Her head swam with multiple different ways to end their mortal lives, some of them less than... humane.

They came at her again with both fear and determination lacing their every movement, two were slightly faster than the others in getting to her and Spider didn't waste a second in lunging to the marine furthest to the right she manoeuvred past his sword's slice and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, dragging him to her left as the second marine reached the zenith of his own attack. It was too late for him to stop himself. It would be by his hand that a man he had served with would lose his life.

A loud clash of metal on metal rang out and everyone froze. The marine in Spider's grasp was dropped and left on the floor panting while the other had his blade locked with Spider's.

_'Why did I do that?'_

Snapping out of the daze first Spider delivered a quick kick to the downed marine while simultaneously slashing away from the blade lock she'd found herself in, forcing the sword out of the second Marine's hand. Stepping over the prone body of the unconscious one Spider struck the second with a punch from which a loud crack ensued. It was only then the other marines that had crowded around shook off the small daze they were in.

_'I had every reason to let him die and then take the opportunity to decapitate his ally, so why didn't I?'_

The others looked like they were about to attack yet something was holding Spider back. **_"HAHNU!"_** (Dream). With that one word, every marine on board collapsed into a deep sleep, leaving Spider stood there, alone.

' _They should be gasping out their dying breath yet here I am telling them goodnight! Why am I holding back?'_ Spider asked herself when several other voices joined the fray.

 _'It's the child, you don't want him to be afraid of you again.'_ One said.

 _'Fool, it's the captain. He ordered you to hold back.'_ Barked another.

 _'Can't it be both?'_ A third tried.

_'Perhaps she's coming back to her senses, do you remember how she used to be?'_

Spider scoffed. "I'll never be that foolish again."

 _'Then how do you explain this?'_ The same voice asked, though it couldn't physically gesture at anything it was clearly talking about the unconscious marines.

"I... I don't know." Spider sheathed her blade and conjured a chair to collapse in. Thankfully she had enough sense to make it a plush armchair to brake her fall, as she placed her head into her hands. "I swore I'd never make that mistake again. The price is too high."

_'Yet here you are, prepared to lose them just like you did-'_

The soul was cut off by an ungodly growl. "Mention them again and I'll send you to the harbour, dovah." Spider warned. Almost no one brought them up anymore, everyone who knew them was dead. All except her.

 _'A nice name for your personal hell scape.'_ This only served to elicit another short growl but no one spoke again while the Dovahkiin collected her thoughts. This took a while since she also had to collect the thoughts of everyone else that called the Dragonborn 'home'.

"Alright. Let's forget about the temporary difficulty I have killing people who don't even deserve to be alive after attempting to apprehend me and my crew, and focus on how I'll be able to escape this place with everyone intact." Spider thought aloud, standing up and banishing the chair she paced back and forth. "Any large scale magic I use on the ship will destroy it, as powerful as I am my affinity is destruction not creation so teleporting it along with the crew isn't an option. And from what I can see the tide is going out and the only exit is blocked by a natural barricade of rocks and a giant metal gate, I'll either have to remove them or wait until high tide and take care of the gate as we approach." Spider commented looking towards the entrance to the marine base.

 _'Why bother, the straw hat kid will only leave when he's ready, you're better off finding the others and waiting for him to do something foolish, like they are.'_ An older dovah suggested abrasively.

Despite the attitude Spider agreed it was better than obsessively preparing a good plan Luffy would probably ruin, she'd come to learn it was one of her young captain's specialties. "Fine, but I'll deal with the refuse first." She said picking up one of the marines by his shirt and throwing him all the way to shore, not hard enough to kill or grievously harm but he won't find it pleasant when he wakes up. She repeated the process until the ship was clear of all marine presence.

Her hand glowed a bright blue and a shimmering translucent dome appeared around the Going Merry. This would repel anyone who wasn't a straw hat and protect her from harm, best part being it didn't harm the ship because the spell was only around it rather on the ship itself.

"I'll be back with the others soon Merry, don't go anywhere." Spider said as she readied a teleporting spell.

In the seconds following Spider heard a feint voice of a child reply. "Keep them safe for me."

* * *

Spider arrived nearby Luffy and Sanji, she could sense they were close and started heading towards the sound of a surprisingly none aggressive conversation.

"We will each prepare meals for one hundred people and the marines themselves will decide the contest winner.!" A female voice layed out what Spider could only assume to be the rules for whatever they were doing.

"Whoa, I have no idea what's going on but it sounds exciting!" Came Luffy's ecstatic response.

 _'His face is on a bounty poster, why aren't they arresting him?'_ Spider pondered as she approached the double doors her crew mates were behind.

"Start whenever you're ready." Sanji's smooth voice replied.

The sound of a conch being blown indicated the start of the contest as Spider opened the doors still dressed in her daedric armour sans the helmet. Stepping into the kitchen she was surprised when no one noticed her immediately and were instead hyper focused on preparing the food. Not wanting to ruin the moment she stepped off to the far corner of the room leaned against the wall to watch.

It never ceased to amaze her how people never noticed she was in a room if she didn't want them to, no matter the stark contrast of her armour against the walls or even if she were to start humming a tune, provided she didn't outright walk in front of somebody they didn't register her existence at all. No magic necessary.

Spider watched as a team of chefs cooked a hundred meals of the same dish using the best parts of all the ingredients they had on hand, they were trying their hardest to show off that much was obvious but they sacrificed diversity in the name of quantity which was a shame.

Sanji wasn't even looking at any of the fresh ingredients at his disposal and instead opted to wait for his opponents to finish their dishes before he made his move. Spider had a sneaking suspicion of his plan given his distaste at wasted food and the other chefs had left a lot of their ingredients half used.

"Such a waste." She heard him say as he took their left over fish and vegetable over to his counter and started to pulverise the bone and guts into a paste. He described step by step what he did as he created a masterpiece out of seemingly nothing, protein filled fish balls with a vitamin rich broth to serve as a side. Sanji was quickly filling the plates and Spider had to admit it looked appetising for what it was, but what looked even better were the other chefs hanging on to his every word like children seeing a magic trick for the first time.

Not wanting to feel left out of this little competition Spider reached into her inventory an pulled out a few dozen sweet rolls and mammoth steaks that she had stored and placed them on the side beside her. Conjuring a quill and parchment she began writing a note.

_They aren't enough to feed everyone however they are imbued with strengthening_

_and stamina enhancing properties so try to save them for a special occasion._

_Sincerely, Spider PoisonBlood_

Despite how she felt about the marines in general terms, if Sanji was willing to give this group the benefit of his cooking talents then Spider could give them a little something to make up for the trouble that her crew would no doubt cause later.

"SO GOOOOOOOOD!" Luffy yelled out from across the room causing spider to drop the note next to her own dishes and turn to the scene her captain was causing. He was sat down surrounded by empty plates which once held the base's chefs meals. Luffy himself looked grossly overweight and it was more shocking they had no idea who he was even now.

"Let's go." Sanji said as he walked up to Luffy and helped him stand up.

"Yeah I guess it is about time we leave huh." He replied with a smile. "Thanks for all the food, it sure was good."

Sanji began to follow his captain as he headed for the exit and passing who Spider thought to be the head chef that had challenged him. "If it had been up to me I would never have battled a woman as beautiful as you. Until we meet again mademoiselle."

They were almost to the door when she responded. "Hold it." They both stopped and turned to see what she had to say. "Were you really planning on leaving me humiliated like this? I won't stand for it, I like your spirit and your appetite so as of right now you two are part of the team." She said with a smile.

The other chefs had a round of cheers and Spider's crew mates were all smiles.

"My sweet Jessica, oh thank you!" Sanji said lovingly with hearts in his eyes.

"Spider was behind the two idiots in a heart beat. "Don't even think about it." She said grabbing them by the collar and dragging them out the door into the maze of hallways.

"Oh hey Spider, where'd you come from?" Luffy asked with his signature grin.

"Well I came to find you and ended up watching Sanji show those cooks what a real chef can do." She responded.

Sanji didn't skip a beat and instantly went into a noodle dance at the prospect of a compliment from another woman, two within a minute of each other must have drove him over the edge. "You really mean that dear? I'm so flattered by your praise."

"Calm down, I need you two to find the others so we can get going, we have a whole ocean to explore and it would be a waste to spend all our time here don't you agree?" Spider coerced.

"Yeah I guess you're right, guess we better get started." Luffy replied.

"We can't leave without Nami-swan and Robin!" Sanji added.

"You're forgetting three other members of the crew there lover boy. Don't forget Chopper is 30% of my reason to stay" Spider said in a nonchalant manner.

"WHAT!" Sanji looked like he'd been stabbed.

"What about the rest of us, what's my percent for you staying?" Luffy asked wide eyed.

"Your 30% of my reason to stay too don't worry." She ruffled his hair affectionately which got him to smile again. "The rest is split evenly between the remainder of the crew" Spider finished with a smile of her own.

Sanji dropped to his knees clutching his chest as if he were heart broken. "I only get 10% of Spider's affection! What a cruel world in which we live."

"You'll drop to 8% if you don't hurry and find the others and I'll assign the remaining percentage to Zoro." Spider warned.

"NEVER!" Sanji cried and sped down the corridor leaving a trail of fire in his wake.

"You didn't mean any of that did you?" Luffy asked.

"No I love you all equally." Spider assured the boy. "It's just faster if he thinks I'll hold more affection for Zoro."

"Wow, you're as manipulative as Nami!" Luffy laughed.

Spider's smile grew wider. "Don't tell her that or she'll try and hit you, now go before Sanji becomes lost too, I'll find Nami and Chopper and we'll meet at the dock so I can get us back to the Merry without disrupting anything."

Luffy nodded and ran off in the same direction Sanji went leaving the Dragonborn alone again. Deciding to open the door and take a half step back into the kitchen she wasn't surprised to find all the marines staring at the door minutes after she'd taken her crew mates out of the room all of a sudden.

"I lied. Chopper is main reason I stay with them. And if any of you breathe a word of this to anyone I will flay you alive and use your skin as a rug." The door quietly closed behind her as she too left to find the others. "They'll snap out of it and raise the alarm soon. But it is strange how long the people of this world spend staring at something even slightly shocking to them." Spider said to herself as she headed towards where she sensed Robin since she was closest.

She arrived at the doors to an office that has two guards posted outside, a quick _**"Iis!"**_ Froze them in place before they could so much as blink. Stepping past them and partially opening the door to lean in the room much like an assistant interrupting a meeting. Spider saw Robin dressed in a navy uniform she'd stolen speaking with a man who was by far the strongest human here. There were a few others in the room but no one of real importance, either way everyone's attention was on her.

"Sorry to interrupt but we're leaving now." Spider spoke to the man in charge who was calmly regarding her from behind his desk, she then looked to Robin. "Come on, captain's orders." She beckoned.

"Hold on a minute, you haven't even introduced yourself and you're leaving already?" The guy behind the desk asked rhetorically. "I'm Vice Admiral Jonathan. And you are?" He asked politely while making to stand.

"I have more titles than we have time to talk so in the interest of haste I'm Spider, that's Robin, and we are leaving." She stated opening the door fully and holding it open for Robin to come with her.

"You know I can't allow you or your crew to escape that easily." Jonathan said and the other marines drew their weapons in preparation to fight.

Robin was already walking out of the room and Spider slipped past her to cover the exit. Connecting her consciousness to the raven haired woman Spider told her to find the docks, Luffy and Sanji should be there with Zoro by the time she arrives.

 _'You can count on me.'_ Robin mentally responded and was on her way, using her devil fruit to guide her.

Spider let the door close behind her, not in the least bit put off by the hostile presence directed at her, she'd seen worse. She had been worse. "I'm going to put this in simple terms for you Vice Admiral Jonathan." She said speaking to him directly. "You are not 'allowing' us to escape easily, in fact the only thing you would accomplish by trying to stop us is sealing the fate of every man and woman in this base because regardless of rank, gender, race or age I will paint these halls with the blood of everyone here and rip the souls from their corpses." Spider's emerald eyes held a burning fire that spoke volumes as to just how serious she was. "There will be no remorse for the living and no afterlife for the dead. So please, attack the people I've come to regard as family, give me the excuse I need to show your faction how far I'll go to protect them a second time."

The tension was palpable, no one was sure how long it lasted but when Jonathan responded it was hesitant. "And What am I supposed to tell my superiors? Surely you can see why this is a damned if I do and damned if I don't situation for me."

She hadn't considered that. These people fit the type who would blame this man for protecting his people above trying to capture pirates. Then she had an idea, dropping her threatening stance and reaching into her inventory to pull out a scroll she cast a spell overwriting the old text and inscribing something new on it before stepping across the room and holding it out the Vice Admiral.

"This is a one time summon, simply open it when in the presence of a superior officer who is berating you for 'letting us escape' and I'll be brought to you." She explained. "It will be a lot harder to argue you could have done more when I show them just how smart you were not to pick a fight you can't win."

Jonathan took the scroll though the doubt he held was clearly written across his feature. "Do I have you're word that no one will be hurt?"

"Sir! Are you sure you can trust pirates!?" One of the semi important looking marines said, his sword shaking. Spider was half tempted to say 'boo!' just to see if he'd drop it.

"What choice do I have, either everyone lives or everyone dies. I know which one I'd prefer." The Vice Admiral replied, refusing to stray from his infuriatingly calm demeanour. Spider would have to fix that.

Looking to the one who questioned Jonathan Spider said. "My crew has more reason to distrust the marines than you do to question our word. Nami and the people of her island spent over a decade as slaves to a pirate I personally tore apart. While the marines accepted the bribes Arlong offered to look the other way. where were you? Sitting here perfectly happy and doing nothing of any use to anyone." Her attention turned back to the Vice Admiral. "I've done my research on this world and the blatant crimes the Marines allow the World Government and Celestial Dragons to get away with, you're nothing but a private military bending to the will of aristocrats with no idea what justice really stands for. You've perverted it into nothing more than a term to justify why you can commit such atrocities and everyone should simply accept it." Spider turned back to the other man. "Think about that the next time you insult someone who just wants to be free."

Spider made for the door but was stopped by the sound of Jonathan's voice as she had her hand on the handle.

"Wait!" He said but wasn't sure what to say when she stopped yet didn't turn around. "How... what is justice to you? How could we do better than this?"

Spider didn't even have to think but refused to turn and look at the man, she had too many memories swirling around inside her head, she saw them smiling, laughing, could feel herself losing them all over again as it turned into screaming. "Justice is about what is fair for the greatest number of people possible, if the law only works to benefit the few so that they can exploit the rest of the world for their own ends then justice has not been achieved." Finally letting go of the handle Spider turned. "I've seen many worlds with all kinds of injustice but here it stands in plain sight masquerading as what is morally right. Followers of true justice would never have allowed such sickening acts simply because the people who commit them are part of a specific social class."

"And what's your excuse!?" He yelled. "I saw what you did to the marines that were sent after you in Alabasta. Only a handful of the eight hundred that were dispatched were found alive and they'll never even be able to walk again. The Vice Admiral was driven so insane they had to restrain him so that he wouldn't kill himself, but rather than tell us what you did he bit off his tongue and choked himself on it."

At last his calm demeanour is cracked, some real emotion slips through. Spider looked him dead in the eye. "How many children are being kept as slaves in Mariejois even as we speak?"

Silence followed.

Jonathan stared at the floor "I... I don't-" He was cut off.

Her voice wasn't raised, in fact, it was barely above a whisper. "The day you can look me in the eye and give me an answer you can stomach, I'll tell you why I did it." Spider was done talking. She left the room without a single care for who was inside and headed for the docks, she could sense the others grouping together and assumed they must have found it.

* * *

Things moved quickly after that, Spider made to her crew and transported them all onto the Going Merry which was still sitting in the middle of the lake without a scratch.

There was the question of how they were going to escape but it was answered by the large metal gate lowering for them and they were able to sail right out without any form of resistance. When asked why all Spider would say is that she had a little chat with Vice Admiral and he came to see things her way.

Now they were following the log pose to the next island which was still a few days away.

Luffy was keeping himself amused by decorating the dagger Spider had gifted him when they first met, making it his own by adding their jolly roger on the hilt with some of Usopp's paints Spider had no doubt the young captain stole without the sniper's knowledge.

She approached Luffy while remaining aware that for some reason Nami and Zoro were sat watching from the other side of the ship.

***Nami and Zoro's perspective***

"Spider likes to give gifts a lot." Nami commented as they watched the Dovahkiin approach their captain.

"Yeah, it's probably the best way she knows how to say that she cares." Zoro replied taking a swig of his booze.

"I guess so." Nami said as they continued their people watching. The two saw Spider pull out a blood red navy overcoat and present it to Luffy who had gone starry eyed at the article of clothing. They could hear him say 'That's so awesome!' even at this distance. He was so excited to put it on and show off his flashy new coat that the boy zipped around the ship faster than they'd ever seen him go before, accompanied by his signature grin.

"GUYS!" Luffy yelled despite now being right in front of the two. "Did you see what Spider got me, I thought she'd forgot I wanted one but it turns out she was putting all kinds of spells on it! So cool, I gotta show Chopper and Usopp!" He declared and disappeared as fast as he'd arrived

"Energetic as always." Zoro stated.

Nami smirked and put her hand in front of her mouth *Cough* "Told you she got him a gift." *Cough*

Zoro raised an eyebrow incredulously *Cough* "No you fucking didn't." *Cough*

"You two sound like you're coming down with something." A voice came from right beside Nami causing her to yelp and jump back into Zoro who reflexively caught her. Both looked and saw Spider smiling at them. "Oh am I interrupting something, I'll come back later when you two aren't cuddling." She said while backing away, smile growing wider at the indignant glares she received.

"This isn't what it looks like and you know it!" Nami cried, jumping up from her seat.

"Right right I completely believe you." *Cough* "Bullshit." *Cough*

Zoro had to hold the navigator back while Spider continued to walk away from the pair. "Stop, let it go we're not going to win this one." He tried but it only seemed to make her more irritable.

Breaking free of the swordsman's grasp she turned and pointed at him in an accusatory manner. "I don't know how but is your fault." Was all she said before speeding off towards her office area.

Zoro just stared after her for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "Tch! Women."

***Back to Spider again***

It's the small pleasures that get the crew through the voyage time to a new island. Spider liked to help with that or else they'd drive each other crazy, not to a huge extent but crazy enough that they'd be very annoyed with each other.

So on special nights, she brought out the good stuff. Cyrodilic Brandy had a high enough alcohol content to make even Zoro blush, and it was just spectacular to see Robin let her guard down as she quietly sang a shanty or two with the rest of the crew. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper would dance wildly (more so than usual anyway), and Nami would laugh like she was the only one in on a hilarious joke no one else new about. Meanwhile, Sanji and Spider would sit and watch their friends with content smiles.

Tonight was special because they would be arriving at a new island soon, a famous place on the Grand Line that built the finest ships in the world. And to Spider, a party always was the best way to say goodbye.


End file.
